Some residents of Lagos State have accused the state government of complicity in the alleged extortion of motorists by men of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit, aka task force.

The residents faulted the government for not erecting signage on some uni-directional roads, thereby enabling officials of the task force to extort money from motorists.

That a Lagos-based businessman, Adeolu Oyinlola, accused some policemen attached to the task force of impounding his vehicle around the BOC Gases area, on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.

According to Oyinlola, there was no indication on the road that it was uni-directional (one way) and efforts to explain to the policemen that there was no such indication proved abortive.

The motorist’s claim was confirmed by our correspondent who visited the area and spoke to residents.

Many readers, who reacted to the report on PUNCH Online, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, shared their ordeals with the security team.

A resident, Ngodo Okechukwu, stated that he parted with N10,000 before his vehicle was released to him.

He wrote, “They took my vehicle to their office at Oshodi, parked it towards the gate without registering it. When I came, they directed me to the person I negotiated with. After agreeing on the amount I was to pay as bribe, which was 10k, he now directed me to one office of which nobody was that I should drop the money on top of a table placed in the middle of the office.

“As I came out after some minutes, my vehicle was released not without paying 500 at the gate. They are seriously using the uniform and gun provided by our tax money to forcefully collect what does not belong to them.”

Another reader, Nomshan Emmanuel, stated that his friend paid N30,000 to the policemen over the same allegation.

“It was at night and there was no sign whatsoever to indicate it was one way,” he added.

One Odezuruigbo, wrote, “The last time I was in Nigeria, one of the task force police directed me to follow a road after asking him for direction, only for the same policeman to arrest me for following one-way. They are terrible and full of aggression; I spent 50k just to go home with my car.”

A reader, Yincarh Olalekan, said his brother’s vehicle was seized in the same area where Oyinlola’s vehicle was impounded, adding that he had evidence of the encounter.

He stated, “They initially demanded N50k ..later after so much negotiation they collected 20k.”

Another reader, Erinle Taiwo, said he was accosted in the Oworonshoki area.

“I also fell victim; no signage inside somewhere in Oworosonki. Despite turning back when an Okada rider told me I was on one way, the policemen that I had just passed pretended as if they were to help me with the right direction, arrested and collected 3k from me,” he wrote.

A reader with the alias, WeeFree, said if a road was not marked as uni-directional, motorists should not be arrested.

He stated, “Ninety-nine per cent of the controlled roads in Lagos have no visible or legible road signage, to make matters worse, some roads start as dual-directional, become single direction at some unmarked or unreasonable point along their length, yet the state government arrests people for not knowing this is one way, which means you should have read their minds in the absence of road signs.”

One Ifeanyi Okereke urged the state government to address the alleged extortion by the task force officials.

He stated, “This extortionist act has been going on for long. The state government should do something about this criminal act, especially at Oshodi, international Airport road. Other areas like Mushin, Somolu. There should be a proper road sign. Sometimes they make the signs nearly invisible to motorists.”

Driving against traffic in Lagos attracts a penalty of vehicle forfeiture.

A senior official of the state government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said most road signs were destroyed during the #EndSARs protest.

He noted that the state government had, however, replaced them.

“Everywhere you go, you see the signs the way thet are in civilised countries. All the ones removed during the #EndSARS riot were put back and every new road that Lagos State is refurbishing or rebuilding, they are putting signs,” the official said.

The Head of the Public Affairs Unit of the task force, Femi Malik, in a statement on Tuesday, said the agency would not condone corruption.

He said, “It is important to confirm to you that the route where the complainant’s (Oyinlola) vehicle was impounded is one way. As reflected in your report, that vehicles were seen plying the route doesn’t make it a bi-directional road.

“The Lagos State Environmental Taskforce and Special Offences Unit is a government agency that will not indulge corruption. We have in-house disciplinary mechanisms for dealing with such incidents and the consequences are well-spelt out.”