Members of the Nigerian Union of Haulage Truck and Trailer Drivers on Monday staged a peaceful protest over alleged harassment, brutality and extortion by operatives of the Lagos State Taskforce and other traffic enforcement agencies.
The truckers, who gathered at The NGGOSSIPS headquarters, said the protest was triggered by the alleged assault of one of their members during a night operation in an industrial area of Ikeja on Saturday— an incident they claimed nearly cost him his life.
Carrying placards bearing the photograph of their injured colleague, Comrade Prince Ogunkanmi Adekunle, the protesters displayed messages such as, “Lagos State Government help us, we are dying oo!” and “Enough of trailer drivers’ brutality.”
Speaking to NGGOSSIPS Metro on behalf of the union, the National Chairman, Okunola Omogbolahan, accused operatives of the Lagos State Task Force, the Vehicle Inspection Office and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority of targeting truck and trailer drivers for extortion under the guise of enforcement.
According to him, the alleged harassment had persisted for years, resulting in the deaths of several drivers.
“We are here to complain about task force brutality and harassment. They almost took the life of one of our members. We thank God he is still alive, and that is why we want this matter escalated,” Omogbolahan said.
“This has been happening for many years. Many truck and trailer drivers have suffered, and we have buried several of them. We have come together to say enough is enough.”
He maintained that members of the union were law-abiding citizens striving to earn a living.
“We are not criminals. We work overnight because of the nature of our job, yet we are treated like offenders even when we have committed no wrong,” he added.
Recounting the incident that allegedly sparked the protest, Omogbolahan said Adekunle was attacked around 1.30am on Saturday while resting inside his truck near the Guinness gate in Ikeja, where he was waiting to load goods.
“He was inside his truck when someone knocked on the door. Before he knew what was happening, the person forced his way in and attempted to seize the key. When the driver stepped down to ask questions, he was attacked,” he alleged.
He further claimed that the operatives often arrived in buses or Hilux vans, sometimes accompanied by suspected hoodlums, and would beat up drivers before towing their vehicles.
“They don’t initially state any offence. They come around midnight, beat up the driver and seize the truck. When you get to Alausa, they accuse you of illegal parking and demand between N600,000 and N700,000 for offences you did not commit,” he alleged, adding that drivers were typically parked within industrial zones and not obstructing major roads.
Narrating his experience, Adekunle said he mistook the man who knocked on his door for a traffic marshal.
“When I opened the door, he jumped inside and started dragging my key. I shouted ‘thief’ because I didn’t recognise him. They beat me up and hit me with a gun. They took my vehicle to their office in Alausa and detained me,” he said.
He further alleged that officers fired shots to disperse other drivers who attempted to intervene.
“They later returned my key and vehicle that same night after seeing the extent of my injuries,” he claimed.
Another driver, Ojewole Samuel, alleged that some private company security personnel colluded with enforcement operatives to target truckers parked near their premises due to limited parking space.
“Many companies in Ikeja do not provide adequate parking for trucks. Drivers are left waiting outside, and we believe some security men alerted the task force. Their goal appears to be extortion, not orderliness,” he alleged.
Samuel claimed that some drivers were forced to pay cash and surrender fuel before their trucks were released.
“In one night, they can make between N100,000 and N150,000. A driver told us he paid N30,000 and was made to sell 60 litres of diesel before his truck was released, even though he was not blocking traffic,” he said.
The protesters said they turned to the media after repeated complaints to authorities allegedly yielded no results, warning that they would seek legal redress if the situation persisted.
Responding to the allegations, the Director of Press and Public Affairs of the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, said he was unaware of the incident.
“I am hearing this for the first time. There are many individuals impersonating our officers. We need to be certain that those involved are genuinely from the Lagos State Taskforce,” he said.
Abdulraheem urged the aggrieved drivers to file a formal complaint at the agency’s headquarters, adding that efforts were ongoing to clamp down on impersonators.
However, when contacted, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, declined to respond over the phone, stating that official inquiries should be channelled through his office or the ministry’s Public Relations Officer.
“I don’t know who I’m speaking to. You can’t just call me on the phone and expect that I’ll have a conversation. I don’t know the person I’m speaking to; you must be introduced as somebody I know. Do you understand?
“I can’t just pick up my phone and start getting this. The appropriate thing to do is to contact my PRO, or you can visit my office. I can’t just pick up the phone and start talking to someone I’ve never spoken to before,” Osiyemi said in a telephone conversation with our correspondent.
