Fleeing soldiers abandon arrested govt officials

One of the towing vehicles

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.