By Adedunle Adeniyi
The Lagos State Police command says it has arrested unspecified numbers of Policemen, Federal Road Safety Commission FRSC and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, and 14 thugs as parts of syndicates that extort Truckers and Carriers Association of Nigeria, TACAN and Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN in recent times.
A statement by Benjamin Hundeyin, Public Relations Officer of the Command said the extortion has led three persons being hospitalized.
The spokesman said the command
has begun a clamp down on touts and thugs extorting truck drivers along the port corridor and other parts of the state, stressing that the exercise will be continuous until the state is rid of extortionists.
Parts of the reads: “Following reports of extortion of truck drivers and other motorists by thugs and some recalcitrant law enforcement officers, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Idowu Owohunwa, has set up an enforcement team with the mandate of raiding spots that have been identified as notorious for such nefarious activities.
“The enforcement team which commenced raids yesterday was led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) and comprises tactical teams and provost officers from the state headquarters.
“The team was at Mile 2 area of the state — a hotbed for the brazen extortionists.
“A total of fifteen thugs were arrested in the act while three police officers, one FRSC and one LASTMA personnel were also arrested for being in cahoots with the touts.
“Owohunwa hereby warns that any law enforcement personnel, irrespective of agency, found complicit in these extortion racketeering would not be spared as they would be apprehended and dealt with in accordance with the law.
The Commissioner also assured Lagosians, especially motorists that the newly set-up enforcement team would sustain the raids and definitely replicate them in other parts of the state where the same issues exist until total sanity is restored.
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