The time was exactly 6:45 am on Thursday, December 9, 2022, and the shocking event we are about to describe took place around Adeniji Adele bus stop in Lagos.
All Femi Olaoluwa wanted to do was to drop his brother at the bus stop, where officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency allow motorists to drop their passengers. But providence had another plan for the man who happens to be the General Manager at an oil firm in the city.
As soon as the passenger alighted from Olaoluwa’s Toyota Highlander 2016 model, about 21 officials of the Lagos State Task Force and the Central Business District unit (popularly known as CBD Boys) crossed his vehicle.
A shocking encounter: While three of the officers stood in front of his car with cocked guns, two of the CBD boys forced their way into his car. Olaoluwa recalled the incident, telling Nairametrics:
- “Everything happened within 3 minutes like a movie. One of the officers with a gun was already drunk, staggering and ready to shoot at me. One of the CBD boys then told me to come down from the vehicle and talk to their team lead, who was in a small bus parked behind my car.
- “As soon as I stepped out of the car, another officer went in and drove off while I just gazed at them because I could not believe an officer of the law could lure me out of the car and then drive my car away without issuing me a ticket or even informing me where he was taking my car to. Meanwhile, before I could get to the bus where the team lead was, the driver of the bus also drove off.
- “It took me about 10 minutes to understand what was going on, as I could not tell where they were taking my car to. I did not find out till around 1:30 pm when I got to Alausa (their station) after I had made fruitless efforts checking at Sura (Lagos Island) and Oshodi.
- I was able to get my car out around 2:30 pm with the help of a friend after I had parted with the sum of N20,000. While I was waiting outside their office, three other vehicles were brought in by the officers and the owners parted with N40,000 each.”
More shocking encounters: Olugbenga George, a Public Relations Consultant, was another victim of the CBD Boys. A few weeks ago, he was returning from Acme Road when he was stopped by the traffic light by Femi’s Shrine. Suddenly, one of the CBD Boys dropped a piece of metal with nails in front of his front Tyre while another officer opened the front door, sat down and instructed him to drive to their office within Alausa without issuing a ticket. George said:
- “They alleged that I was not supposed to stop in the said lane, as my vehicle was blocking the traffic. Though, I knew it was all a means to extort me. The officers insisted I bribed them with N40,000 but I negotiated to N15,000, to which they agreed.
- “I believed it was an organised crime when they ask me to turn right by Ivory Music House and led me to a POS agent around Femi’s African Shrine. As soon as I got to the POS agent, they exchanged pleasantries like they are friends. I used my ATM card in the guy’s machine, made the withdrawal and the agent handed the cash over to the officers.
- “After I dropped them back at the point I was arrested, I went back to the POS agent, who disclosed that I was the 6th person they had accosted to him and forced to use his POS machine. According to him, others were forced to pay N20,000 or more after they had threatened that their vehicles will be auctioned by the Lagos State Government.”
Meanwhile, Olaoluwa and George are only two of the victims of the Lagos Task Force and the CBD Boys. More reports and testimonies have revealed that scores of motorists have also fallen into their traps.
No right to arrest: A source at Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) who spoke to Nairametrics anonymously, said the CBD Boys are not empowered by the law to arrest traffic offenders, as that is the sole right of LASTMA officials. He explained:
- “Most of their victims are ignorant of the law. They were all working with the defunct Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) and were only asked to join the Task Force to keep them busy.
- “Motorists have the right to challenge them and insist they were taken to their office either on the Island or Alausa. It is against the law for them to forcefully drive another person’s vehicle or arrest traffic offenders. The unfortunate thing is that the top government officials that are supposed to caution them also share out of the bribe.”
The government keeps mum: Efforts to get the Chairman of the Lagos Task Force, Shola Jejeloye, to respond to these allegations proved fruitless, as he didn’t respond to calls and text messages made and sent by our analyst.
However, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, had earlier condemned the acts during an interview, promising to fish out the suspects and prosecute them. He said:
- “I can assure you that we will get to the root of this embarrassing, indiscipline act.
- “Our monitoring team will be deployed to investigate the alleged extortion of this some yet-to-be-identified council officers for prosecution. Enforcement of traffic management by council officials is illegal and remains so in the state.”
These ugly events are not surprising because, from my experience it can be so difficult to draw the line between the illegality and legality of the activities of these hoodlums as most state governments empower them or their bosses in many cases. In my opinion, Nigerian democracy especially at state level, seems to be firmly in the hands of thugs and their sponsors at the moment and no serious progress can be made in any facet of the society, be it the economy, security or maintenance of the rule of law, until the good people of the country wake up and find a way to take back this power.
I was once a victim of these so call task force at Montgomery road Yaba, without comitting any offence they took me to their station and use the POS woman in their yard to collect N25k, it will be appropriate to call them armed rubber that Lagos Government assigned to the road to harass and extort people. When you see them, no uniform, no name tag all these were done to escape being recognized.
The Chairman of the task force Shola Jejeola will never pick your calls or return your text messages, because they are working together, they are sindicatevthat needs to be disbanded or dismantled.
Special adviser to LAGS government Transport adviser Sola Giwa have more work to do, to correct this ugly situation that we are experiencing everyday in Lagos, is either you apprehend and sack these extortionist called task force, or leave them to continue operation as part of this sindicate. You can not pretend that you are not aware of this extortion, in fact people lobby to be part of task force group in Lagos because they will go home with plenty money everyday.
This is a civilized society, LAGS government should do the needful to get rid of these people and stop using hundlum called task force to be harassing Lagosian. Untill one of the task force and their leaders are decipline openly and made example, this nonsense will not stop.
The best thing is for Lagos state government should review the law either by reducing the penalty of disban them ,am also a victim last year 14th of February, they say I reverse that is oneway I paid 60k with the help of a policeman,another end task force is coming
The situation in Lagos has never been this bad. LASG is not unaware of what is happening.
This same incidence happened to me today at Ikeja Underbrige where I made a U-turn and a public transport bus was in front of me dropping off passengers free. I packed behind the bus to drop off my younger brothers from my car. The moment my brothers came down from my car, a CBD officer came in front of my car, snapped my car with his phone’s camera and walked to my car insisting that I open the door for him. As soon as I did, he entered the car and said I broke the traffic law and that I must drive down to their office. I told him the place I parked was a bus-stop as I saw other public buses doing the same. He said I was “claiming right” and that I must get to their station. We drove silently for about one kilometer and he spoke up and asked me to choose whether to “settle” him or I would like to go and pay a fine in their office. I told him I would settle him. We drove to the nearest ATM and I withdrew 5k and gave him. He said he wanted more but I pleaded before he let me go.
I came online and google “CBD officers” to find this article. Thank you Nairametric.
On the 31/01/24 the same thing this people’s use to arrest the bus I came with to agidigbi behind coca~cola immediately I saw the CBD corp I went to Google it out ,
i now find that thy didn’t have any right to arrest anyone on the road and the guy was even the one explaining to the lastman was even standing he is the one telling the lastman what happens well I really blame the driver because his already following some car at is front suddenly he just stop when thy discover that I tried to drag with them why will thy arrest the driver thy quickly drive to where I will not be able to see them any more later the driver said he paid them 15000 naira .just immagine the kind way people’s are extorting in Lagos in the name of working for Lagos state .