Confessions of a Lagos tout: Policemen are our partners in crime

Confessions of a Lagos tout, policemen are our partners in crime

Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre and the most cosmopolitan city-state in the country is a place where sharp practices aimed at making fast money thrive. Many of these take place on the streets.

Investigation reveals that millions of naira flow from commercial bus drivers to bus conductors, policemen, drivers’ unions and other uniformed state officials in Lagos everyday through what can best be described as ‘tolls’. These ‘tolls’ are fees arbitrarily imposed on commercial vehicles drivers and owners by law enforcing agents of the governments.

However, it is quite intriguing that though the demand for these ‘tolls’ is illegal, the demand is often enforced with force, Saturday PUNCH observed.

As far as policemen are concerned, there is no legal basis for them to collect any form of fees, levies or tolls in the course of enforcing the law on the roads or streets in the state.

As the Inspector-General of Police, Muhammad Abubakar, took the mantle of leadership in 2012, he proscribed checkpoints and roadblocks by the police.

While making the pronouncement in February 2012, Abubakar said, “Toll stations in the name of checkpoints adorn the highways with policemen shamefully collecting money from motorists in the full glare of the public. Any observed non-compliance with this directive will attract severe sanctions.”

This pronouncement closed the door on the avenue through which many policemen make money on the roads and streets of Lagos.

But it has now become clear that rather than lose this veritable source of additional income, some policemen have become wiser and have devised a new method of demanding the money from commercial vehicle drivers.

An average passerby is not likely to see any policeman collecting this toll at the different bus stops in Lagos. But the commercial bus drivers who regularly drop and pick passengers at these bus stops know better.

Our correspondent visited some of these bus stops in Lagos to find out more about this newly developed method used by policemen to collect money from commercial bus drivers.

At all the bus stops our correspondent visited, a similar method of keeping tab on commercial buses was observed.

Touts and street urchins run after commercial buses, sweating with marker pens in hand.

Some of them become physically aggressive with the bus drivers.

One of such touts, whom our correspondent got friendly with, gave an insight into the deal.

 The young man, who identified himself as Sati, told Saturday PUNCH, “Most times, we are the ones who tell the police to allow us collect the money on their behalf because we know we are likely to get good returns.

“The policemen who are in charge of traffic at the bus stops  in Lagos collect money cautiously but they don’t usually have the ability to enforce it well because their Divisional Police Officers must not hear about it.

“But we are able to run after the buses and sometimes intimidate the drivers. This is more effective than they demanding it themselves. We get our share when we decide to go and rest in the evening. I get more than N1,000 per day sometimes.”

At Anthony Bus Stop, as our correspondent stood and observed this exercise, which took place each time a bus stopped by, a driver, who obviously had paid once at the same point that day, would demand to know why he had to pay again.

Each time, the sweating street urchin answered with two words, “ Owo olopa (Police money).”

The bus driver would grudgingly hand him N50.

Some traffic policemen sat nearby, observing the ‘transactions’.

Our correspondent was to see at least eight other commercial bus drivers pay this “police money” within the 10 minutes he spent there.

Each time these men collect the money, they would mark a conspicuous part of the vehicle.

On the way to Oshodi bus stop, our correspondent got into a conversation with the driver of the commercial bus he boarded.

The driver, Saheed Idowu, told our correspondent, “You have to pay the police money. The policemen standing at those bus stops are the ones those boys are collecting the money for. They use those street urchins because those ones know how to use aggression to demand the money. You know there is a limit to which a policeman can demand money from you on the road by force.

“They mark your vehicle so that when you get there later, they will see the mark on your vehicle and won’t have to collect another round from you. The boys can destroy part of your car if you don’t pay.

“Apart from that, if the policemen noticed that you are notorious for not paying when you get to their stop, you’re likely to suffer a lot because they will regularly impound your vehicle on flimsy allegations.”

At Oshodi Bus Stop, our correspondent observed the same trend.

A commercial bus driver, who identified himself simply as Sope, told our correspondent there that he paid as much as N300 as police fee at different bus stops everyday.

“You can imagine how much these policemen are making from all bus drivers if I pay as much as N300 each day. Sometimes, I evade the payment at some bus stops but one cannot escape all the others,” he said.

At Ketu Bus Stop, our correspondent noticed a policewoman wearing a reflective jacket on which was inscribed, “Police Inspector Traffic.”

She held a baton menacingly as she controls buses picking and letting off passengers at the bus stop.

The policewoman kept an eye on a young man, who held a marker pen and a wad of cash.

The young man was doing a great job of running after buses and getting the drivers to pay.

Our correspondent was at the bus stop for at least 30 minutes, observing the scene.

Within this time, the policewoman seemed to be giving the “toll collector” some instructions at irregular intervals.

Our correspondent could not make out what was being said between them.

But a bus conductor confirmed to our correspondent that the young man was the policewoman’s collector.

The conductor said, “These police people here are smart. If you escape without paying and you think they have not noticed, you will suffer for it when you’re stopping at the bus stop later.

“They are familiar with us because they are the ones directing traffic at the bus stop. Usually, we pay N50  each time we pass the bus stop. But if you have paid before and the collector has made a mark on your bus, you can promise to pay at your next round and escape that way.”

Joshua Ilumogbon, who plies the route between Mile 12 and Ojuelegba, said he paid police fee at almost every stop on the Ikorodu Road.

He explained to our correspondent that not every street urchin collecting money at the bus stops were agents of police traffic officers.

Ilumogbon said, “There is usually one at each bus stop. The other boys collecting money are working for their union leaders. Usually, each bus stop is controlled by a particular union leader, a boss who has authority over those collecting tolls.

“The money is delivered to them everyday and they in turn give the toll collectors some stipends. In the case of these policemen, they collect the money from the boys at the close of work late in the evening. The boys get some amount for their service. They make a lot of money.”

A young man at Berger Bus Stop on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, once asked a bus conductor for money in the presence of our correspondent.

When an argument ensued between them, the young man mentioned that the money was different from what the driver had paid before.

“This is for the police,” he said.

Our correspondent looked around but saw no policeman. An attempt to get the tout about the policeman he was collecting the money for was promptly rebuffed.

But the driver of the bus said sometimes the policemen might not be seen in the vicinity.

But the boys always make the necessary returns at the close of work.

Saturday PUNCH could not get comments from the police spokesperson in the state, Ngozi Braide, on this new trend on Wednesday as call, to her line went unanswered.

PUNCH