Truckers
in Lagos have cried out over alleged harassment, brutality and extortion by
operatives of the Lagos State Taskforce and other traffic enforcement agencies.
Members of the umbrella union of truckers, Nigerian Union of Haulage Truck and
Trailer Drivers, on Monday, staged a peaceful protest.
The
truckers, who gathered at The
PUNCH headquarters, said the protest was triggered by the alleged
assault of one of their members during a night operation in an industrial area
of Ikeja on Saturday— an incident they claimed nearly cost him his life.
Carrying
placards bearing the photograph of their injured colleague, Comrade Prince
Ogunkanmi Adekunle, the protesters displayed messages such as, “Lagos State
Government help us, we are dying oo!” and “Enough of trailer drivers’
brutality.”
Speaking
to PUNCH Metro on
behalf of the union, the National Chairman, Okunola Omogbolahan, accused
operatives of the Lagos State Task Force, the Vehicle Inspection Office and the
Lagos State Traffic Management Authority of targeting truck and trailer drivers
for extortion under the guise of enforcement.
According
to him, the alleged harassment had persisted for years, resulting in the deaths
of several drivers.
“We
are here to complain about task force brutality and harassment. They almost
took the life of one of our members. We thank God he is still alive, and that
is why we want this matter escalated,” Omogbolahan said.
“This
has been happening for many years. Many truck and trailer drivers have
suffered, and we have buried several of them. We have come together to say
enough is enough.”
He
maintained that members of the union were law-abiding citizens striving to earn
a living.
“We
are not criminals. We work overnight because of the nature of our job, yet we
are treated like offenders even when we have committed no wrong,” he added.
Recounting
the incident that allegedly sparked the protest, Omogbolahan said Adekunle was
attacked around 1.30am on Saturday while resting inside his truck near the
Guinness gate in Ikeja, where he was waiting to load goods.
“He
was inside his truck when someone knocked on the door. Before he knew what was
happening, the person forced his way in and attempted to seize the key. When
the driver stepped down to ask questions, he was attacked,” he alleged.
He
further claimed that the operatives often arrived in buses or Hilux vans,
sometimes accompanied by suspected hoodlums, and would beat up drivers before
towing their vehicles.
“They
don’t initially state any offence. They come around midnight, beat up the
driver and seize the truck. When you get to Alausa, they accuse you of illegal
parking and demand between N600,000 and N700,000 for offences you did not
commit,” he alleged, adding that drivers were typically parked within
industrial zones and not obstructing major roads.
Narrating
his experience, Adekunle said he mistook the man who knocked on his door for a
traffic marshal.
“When
I opened the door, he jumped inside and started dragging my key. I shouted
‘thief’ because I didn’t recognise him. They beat me up and hit me with a gun.
They took my vehicle to their office in Alausa and detained me,” he said.
He
further alleged that officers fired shots to disperse other drivers who
attempted to intervene.
“They
later returned my key and vehicle that same night after seeing the extent of my
injuries,” he claimed.
Another
driver, Ojewole Samuel, alleged that some private company security personnel
colluded with enforcement operatives to target truckers parked near their
premises due to limited parking space.
“Many
companies in Ikeja do not provide adequate parking for trucks. Drivers are left
waiting outside, and we believe some security men alerted the task force. Their
goal appears to be extortion, not orderliness,” he alleged.
Samuel
claimed that some drivers were forced to pay cash and surrender fuel before
their trucks were released.
“In
one night, they can make between N100,000 and N150,000. A driver told us he
paid N30,000 and was made to sell 60 litres of diesel before his truck was
released, even though he was not blocking traffic,” he said.
The
protesters said they turned to the media after repeated complaints to
authorities allegedly yielded no results, warning that they would seek legal
redress if the situation persisted.
Responding
to the allegations, the Director of Press and Public Affairs of the Lagos State
Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, said he
was unaware of the incident.
“I am
hearing this for the first time. There are many individuals impersonating our
officers. We need to be certain that those involved are genuinely from the
Lagos State Taskforce,” he said.
Abdulraheem
urged the aggrieved drivers to file a formal complaint at the agency’s
headquarters, adding that efforts were ongoing to clamp down on impersonators.
However,
when contacted, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun
Osiyemi, declined to respond over the phone, stating that official inquiries
should be channelled through his office or the ministry’s Public Relations
Officer.
“I
don’t know who I’m speaking to. You can’t just call me on the phone and expect
that I’ll have a conversation. I don’t know the person I’m speaking to; you
must be introduced as somebody I know. Do you understand?
“I
can’t just pick up my phone and start getting this. The appropriate thing to do
is to contact my PRO, or you can visit my office. I can’t just pick up the
phone and start talking to someone I’ve never spoken to before,” Osiyemi said
in a telephone conversation with our correspondent.
Culled from the Punch
