Residents
of Akoka in Bariga Local Council Development Area of Lagos State on
Friday arrested some men impounding vehicles parked on the side of the
road near Chemist Bus Stop.
Some soldiers attached to OP MESA, who
acted as escorts, abandoned the three men who claimed to be government
officials when policemen from the Bariga Police Division arrived the
scene.
Before they ran out of luck, they were
said to have towed some vehicles which they later released after
demanding and collecting bribes from their owners.
One of the towing vans used by the men
was parked at the police station when our correspondent visited on the
day of the incident.
A mechanic, who identified himself
simply as Sola, said the ‘government officials,’ who dressed like
traffic wardens, came with about six towing vehicles.
He said, “When the officials arrived
around 11am, they impounded about four vehicles on Wulemotu Ajoke Street
and when we asked them why they were doing so, they got angry.
“They threatened to impound all vehicles
parked on the street. But we insisted that they had no right to do so
because the vehicles were not abandoned. When you see an abandoned
vehicle, you will know.
“After sometime, two people, whose cars
were impounded, came to plead with the government officials, but they
used the soldiers to intimidate them and demanded N5,000 for each
vehicle to be released.
“It was during the argument which ensued that many residents of the street came out.”
One of the residents that came out was
the Chairman of Akoka Community Development Association, Mr. Segun
Adesanya, who asked the officials to identify themselves.
When the ‘government officials’ could
not provide their identity cards, Adesanya then suggested that policemen
from Bariga Police Division be invited.
The CDA chairman said the soldiers immediately left the officials when policemen arrived, causing further suspicion.
He said, “The officials had extorted
N1,000 from two people, so I said they should present their ID cards.
When they were unable to do so, I suggested that we go to the police
station but the soldiers left because they knew what they were doing was
wrong.
“On getting to the police station, the
“government officials” said they were from the taskforce on abandoned
vehicles and were impounding all abandoned vehicles parked on the
roadside.
“The so-called officials said they had
put stickers on cars parked on the roadside, warning their owners to
move them or risk having them impounded.
“However, the vehicles they were impounding were not even abandoned but were recently parked there by residents.
“Also, I know that taskforce usually
move around with policemen and not soldiers. I just felt that they were
giving the government of the state a bad name because of the manner they
went about towing vehicles on the street.”
Another resident whose car who damaged
by the ‘government officials’ while attempting to tow a car, said, “I
believe they were just out to extort money from people. When you move
around all the streets in Lagos, you will see vehicles that had been
abandoned for years. The tyres of such vehicles, the dust on them and
cob webs you see on them would tell you they are indeed abandoned. Those
are the kinds of vehicles they should get off the streets.”
It was learnt that the three ‘officials’
were later released on bail and that the police compelled them to
return the money they had extorted to the owners.
The spokesperson for the state police
command, Ngozi Braide, confirmed the incident to our correspondent but
added that the officials were not on illegal duty.
“The officials were not on illegal duty but the manner with which they carried out their operation was bad,” she said.
The spokesperson, Army 81 Division,
Colonel Kinglsey Umoh, said he was neither aware of the incident nor
aware that soldiers were attached to any taskforce in the state.
A text message sent by Umoh reads,
“Please get in touch with officials of the taskforce and the Bariga
Police Station. I am not aware of soldiers attached to the taskforce and
therefore I have received no such report.”
A text message sent to the Commissioner for Transformation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, was not responded to
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