An Australian writer, Mark Pollard, has alleged that he was repeatedly asked for cash by airport and road security officials during a recent visit to Nigeria, sparking reactions online.
In a video statement shared on X on Thursday and has been trending, Pollard questioned whether such encounters were routine, saying he was told to give money “at least 10 times” while arriving and departing through airports.
He also described frequent road checkpoints, wondering whether they served security purposes or were used to solicit payments. According to him, even staff at his hotel appeared more interested in what they could request from him than in conducting standard security checks.
He said, “Nigerian friends, is your entire country set up to shake people down? Because coming in and out of the airports there, I was told, you know, you give me cash at least 10 times.
“A lot of the roads have security checkpoints, but are they security checkpoints or shakedown checkpoints? Even going into my hotel, people weren’t just looking me up and down to see if I was carrying anything dangerous. They were looking me up and down to see if there’s anything that they could ask me for.
“Am I overreacting? Because this must stress you out on a daily basis. I was just visiting and had a lot of fun. And I would say in Africa, Nigeria, number one in fashion.”
The Punch
