Maiduguri – The Police Command in Borno on Sunday set up road blocks on major roads in Maiduguri in its bid to check the increasing attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that at each check point passengers are requested to disembark for a thorough search.

NAN reports that the police also demand motorcyclists to disembark and raise one of their hands, while pushing their bikes with the other hand.

Some residents interviewed have criticised the new approach, describing it as inhuman.

Malam Kaka Shehu, a member of the Borno branch of the Nigeria Bar Association Committee on Human Rights, told NAN in Maiduguri that the method was oppressive.

“It is really sad that the government is introducing this kind of security checks on innocent people.

“So many innocent people have been brutalised by security agents on the excuse of conducting search for weapons,” Shehu said.

He alleged that two NBA members were assaulted by security agents on Sunday for refusing to frog-jump at a check point.

“This approach is anti-people and will not lead us anywhere,” Shehu said.

But Malam Lawal Abdullahi, the Police Public Relations Officer, told NAN that the search was aimed at confiscating weapons in the hands of the militants.

“People should bear with us because the search is meant at making sure that we stop the ongoing assault on innocent persons by the militants,” Abdullahi said. (NAN)