Lagos State government on Friday in collaboration with men of the Nigeria Police Force attached to the Lagos State Governor’s Monitoring Team nabbed 10 fake Ministry of Transportation (MOT) enforcement officials at Cele/Itire axis of the state for allegedly extorting motorists in the state.
Those apprehended for allegedly engaging in illegal operations include, Ojo Oluwaseun, Rafiu Agbabiaka, Babatunde Ibrahim, Abiodun Olusegun, Daniel Olanrewaju, Aweda Kabiru, Olufowobi Michael, Olamilekan Olasupo, Bunmi James and Iyiola Shola (female).
They were caught carrying out unauthorized enforcement earlier in the day using different fake ID cards.
The permanent secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Olawale Musa while addressing the Press, revealed that the arrest was made in response to complaints registered at the Ministry by concerned citizens.
Musa said the suspects are not members of staff of the Ministry, adding that they will be made to face the full wrath of the law.
He added that the tow trucks, Identification cards and other equipment owned by the suspects have been confiscated by the state government, urging members of the public to report illegality promptly to the Ministry of Transportation.
“These people pose as staff of MOT and extort members of the public. Following this information, we set up a team led by the Governor’s Monitoring Team to apprehend the suspects.
“They are 10 in number; they even have tow trucks. We have seized them; they have MOT ID cards. They are not our staff. They will face the full wrath of the law; impersonation is against the law. We always tell the public, we do not condone the activities of these people, they are touts.
“They do not work for the government; they do not work for us. When you see such people, call our phone numbers to make us aware of their illegal activities and that is the directive of Mr. Governor, we are going to eradicate them one by one. We will take them to court.”
One of those arrested, Bunmi James insisted that they were MOT officials, saying, “We have a boss, Adebayo Michael, we just came out this morning with our tow trucks to work and they just threw us into the Black Maria. We work for MOT Lagos State, I don’t know the governor, I don’t know the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr. Sola Giwa but I know my boss.”
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