Before now, Suleja has been regarded a low crime area compared with other satellite towns bordering Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, FCT. The town began to lose its peace early last year when two bombs were detonated at a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship rally. This was followed by another blast that killed some people and injured several others at the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC office few days to the April 2011 general elections. Another explosion also occurred at a church resulting in multiple deaths and injuries. The climax of this however was the horrendous Christmas Day blast that claimed over 40 lives at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, in the same local government. Suleja local government was among the 15 local government areas in four states across the country declared a state of emergency on New Year’s Eve by the federal government. It is also among the areas where a curfew was imposed by Niger State government in January this year following a violent demonstration during the fuel subsidy protest organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC. 
For the residents of Suleja, headquarters of Suleja local government area, these are not the best of times. Security check points erected at all the entry points to the town as part of measures to contain the insurgency of the outlawed Boko Haram sect, have become a nightmare for commuters who waste productive hours to and fro their places of work or business.
While commuters feel the pain of wasted hours, transporters and other motorists contend with intimidation and extortion from policemen at the check points. Newsworld checks revealed that the check points have become more of extortion post than the original security consideration that necessitated them. A civil servant, Michael Odia who sees the checkpoints as necessary “considering the threats of terrorist activities in the country,” could however not understand the rationale of policemen extorting money from motorists at the checkpoints. “It is very annoying that we waste man hours on traffic jams caused by road blocks that have become toll gates for policemen. These days I often resume late for work and get back home late, because of checkpoints that do not serve their original purpose. I am just lucky that my boss in the office understands my predicament, if not my lateness to work can cause problems for me.”
Another commuter, who gave his name simply as Ogar, told this magazine that sometimes passing through Madalla town on his way to Suleja can take a harrowing one hour because of multiple check points on the road. This according to him “is becoming undesirable since the barricades have become notorious for police extortion.”
A commercial bus driver who pleaded anonymity complained that the delay caused by police checkpoints on Suleja/Madalla road is robbing off on him and his colleagues. 
But a senior police officer who did not want to be mentioned commended the action of the police at the checkpoints, which he described as “a professional job which sometimes lead to the arrest of criminals.”
Experts are of the view that there is the need for Nigeria to improve on its intelligence gathering capability to fight the prevailing threats of advance crime.  
Newsworld findings revealed that there is a general sense of support for measures to improve security in the area. But the attitude of the police and men of the Nigerian Army is causing discontent in the area. 
Military personnel on patrol in Suleja town are also accused of violating the fundamental human rights of the people. In one instance they were said to have entered a television viewing centre around 9.00 p.m. during a premiership match, after watching the match they administered eight strokes of horse whip each on the spectators for keeping late night. Some victims of the brutality who spoke to this magazine said they got eight lashes after passionate appeals to reduce the punishment from 12 strokes.
The information officer of Suleja local government, Yarima Jibril Bissallah, assured that the council is collaborating with stakeholders to ensuring peaceful co-existence among residents of the council irrespective of religion or tribe.

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