Lagos Taskforce arrests 2 for impersonation, extortion

A statement by the Head, Public Affairs Unit, Lagos State Task Force, Mr Adebayo Taofiq, quoted the Chairman of the Task Force, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, as saying that the suspects were apprehended by the monitoring team.

He said that the Monitoring and Enforcement Team of the Agency made the arrest after the suspects had negotiated and collected N15,000 bribe from a motorist.

Egbeyemi said that preliminary interrogation revealed that the suspects presented themselves as officers of the agency and arrested a motorist for traffic obstruction at Ojota bus-stop.

They arrested the owner of the vehicle for obstruction at Ojota, drove him down to Bolade bus-stop opposite Task Force office, where they negotiated and collected the sum of N15,000 from him.

We have severally received complaints from motorists, particularly commercial bus drivers, about activities of these unscrupulous fraudsters who specialise in impersonating as officers of the agency.

They have continued to defraud people across the state, he said.

The Chairman reiterated that police officers attached to Lagos State Task Force enforcing traffic and environmental sanitation laws wear jackets with inscription of LASG TASKFORCE for proper identification while on duty.

He clarified that only Lagos State Task Force and LASTMA are empowered by law to enforce traffic laws on BRT corridors across the state.

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Egbeyemi urged motorists to desist from giving bribe to traffic enforcement officers.

He said that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Zubairu Muazu, had directed that the arrested suspects, who had both confessed to the crime, be arraigned immediately.

The two suspects claimed to be making N50.000 to N70.000 daily from this illegal duties, he said.