The Lagos State Police Command has apprehended
two men, Funsho Williams and Adekogbe Olabode, for allegedly impersonating
officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspects
last Wednesday accosted a 62-year-old retiree, Mr. Felix Adesanya, and demanded
N60, 000 from him for allegedly contravening a traffic law.
The man, who retired from the Federal Airport
Authority of Nigeria, said he was on his way to the Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital when he was accosted by the suspects.
He said on getting to Akilo Road in the Ogba area
of the state, the suspects, wearing reflective jackets, stopped his Toyota Camry
and snatched N30, 000 from him after ransacking his car.
Not done, the suspects allegedly demanded an
extra N30, 000 so that he would not forfeit his vehicle as stipulated in the
traffic law.
He said, “They said I had committed a traffic
offence and forcefully entered the vehicle, introduced themselves as LASTMA
officials. They later demanded my wallet, ransacked it and took N30,000 with a
threat to take me to their office if I did not cooperate and summed up the money
to N60,000.
“In order to meet up with my appointment, I went
on my knees begging for mercy, but they said I should take them to the nearest
ATM or face the risk of forfeiting my vehicle and paying a N120,000 fine.
“Left between the deep-blue sea and the devil, I
followed them obediently. At the ATM, they demanded to know my account balance,
but I did not allow them see it, I withdrew N5, 000 and gave it to them, making
it N35, 000 in all.”
The victim said while in the vehicle, the
suspects continued to pester him and when they alighted and flagged down a
commercial motorcycle, he raised the alarm.
He said one of the suspects clung to a moving
commercial bus in a bid to escape when a team of LASTMA officials in a patrol
van intercepted them.
Giving an account of the incident, a LASTMA
official, Jonathan Arewa, said around 8.15am, he and his team were able to
apprehend the suspects.
He said, “A young man in a white shirt was chased
by an angry mob, who caught and handed him over to us. The crowd accused him of
robbing a man of N35, 000 in collaboration with another man who was at large as
of that time.
“It took the concerted efforts of the police and
the LASTMA team to stop the mob from lynching them. The suspects were taken to
Area F Command for further investigation.”
Reacting to the incident, the LASTMA boss, Mr.
Babatunde Edu, condemned the act and maintained that the impostors were not
employees of the agency.
He explained that the agency would continue to
embark on an aggressive public enlightenment campaign to educate Lagosians on
how to identify a genuine LASTMA official and not “fall prey to impostors who
are out to enrich themselves under the pretence of working for the state.”
Edu explained that LASTMA officials were to be in
uniform at all times with visible name tags. He added that no officer must cover
his or her name tag with beret, pen or other items, and motorists had the right
to ask for an official’s identity “as anything short of this is illegal and must
be reported to the authority.”http://www.punchng.com/metro-plus/fake-lastma-officials-demand-bribe-escort-victim-to-atm/
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