IGBOZURUOKE MEDIA

The Lagos State Police Command has ordered an investigation after a motorist accused officers attached to a task force team of demanding N150,000 over an alleged traffic violation.

The command in an X post said it had been made aware of a video circulating online that shows the incident.

“The attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been drawn to the video currently circulating online,” the statement read.

It added that the Commissioner of Police had ordered a probe into the matter.

“The Commissioner of Police has ordered an immediate investigation into the matter. The Command appreciates members of the public for bringing this to our attention and assures that appropriate action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation,” it said. 

Similarly, the Nigeria Police Force New Media Officer, Aliyu Giwa, confirmed that an investigation had been launched into the matter.

“Over the past few hours, my phone has not stopped—messages,  inquiries, concerns—all centered around one thing, the video currently circulating online involving the ‘Lagos state task force’ headed by CSP Akerele,” he said. 

According to him, “the matter is under careful review”. 

“Every detail is being examined. Every fact is being ascertained. Nothing is being swept aside, and nothing is being treated lightly,” Giwa added. 

“To every Nigerian who sent a message, raised a concern, or simply watched that video and felt unsettled, your reaction matters. Your vigilance is not noise. It is the voice of a public that expects better, deserves better, and under this leadership, will get better.”

The motorist had accused police officers attached to a Lagos task force team of demanding N150, 000 after alleging he violated a one-way traffic rule.

The allegation emerged in a video circulating online, where the driver described being stopped by officers in traffic near a roundabout around Toyin Street.

He said the road was congested at the time, with several drivers making U-turns at a commonly used spot. He explained how the officers intercepted him despite the normal flow of traffic.

“That particular day, they blocked the road. They were walking on that. I walked by the roundabout. So there was heavy traffic on the road there. So the police people were there on the roundabout, on the station there,” he said.

“Then they came and met us in the traffic. If you are going back to Toyin Street, you can make a U-turn at that particular spot. Everybody has made a U-turn. People have been making U-turns. So suddenly, this particular squadron came after I’ve even made a U-turn.”

The motorist said the officers accused him of following the wrong direction, despite his insistence that he had not violated any traffic rule.

“They’ve damaged my car in front. That I followed one way. I said, I didn’t follow one way. We dragged back, okay. They had my phone. I don’t want them to damage my vehicle. They had my vehicle. I went and turned at the custom roundabout.”

SaharaReporters observed in the video that one of the officers was driving his vehicle and deliberately positioned it in a one-way lane, while another person recorded the scene.

“He turned from the custom roundabout and came back. If you watch the video, I started the video immediately, he’s coming back. He now drove the vehicle to go and position it,” the motorist said.

The motorist explained that the officer’s action appeared to create evidence of a traffic violation, which led to the alleged demand for money before the vehicle was released. (Sahara Reporters)