The Lagos State Police Command has said three policemen and two officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps and Lagos State Traffic Management Authority respectively have been nabbed for extortion of truck drivers and motorists in the state.
The state police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed this in a statement on Saturday.
Hundeyin said the officers were nabbed at the Mile 2 area of the state, described as the hotbed of extortion.
According to Hundeyin, the operation was carried out on Friday following reports of extortion of truck drivers and other motorists by thugs and some law enforcement officers.
He said, “The Commissioner of Police, CP 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 on Friday was led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) and comprised tactical teams and provost officers from the state headquarters.
“A total of 15 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,” the police spokesman stated.
Hundeyin said the CP had warned that any law enforcement personnel, irrespective of their agency, found complicit in extortion racketeering would not be spared as they would be apprehended and dealt with in accordance with the law.
“Meanwhile, the CP has assured Lagosians, especially motorists that the newly set-up enforcement team will sustain the raids and definitely replicate them in other parts of the state where the same issues exist until total sanity is restored,” he added.
The PUNCH reports that the CP in July also set up Operation Flush to tackle robberies on Lagos roads and streets.
This was following a report by this newspaper that residents were lamenting robberies in different parts of the state.
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