Some motorists and drivers plying the Dopemu Bridge, in the Agege area of Lagos State, have alleged that officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority deployed in the area regularly extort money from them.
The Dopemu flyover is an access road leading to Dopemu, Iyana Ipaja and Ikeja areas of the state.
During rush hours in the morning, motorists and commercial buses use the bridge, while vehicular movement on the road to Dopemu is prohibited from 3pm.
There’s a signboard around the corner warning motorists against the use of the bridge after the stipulated time.
However, motorists and drivers going towards the Akowonjo area of the state use the flyover when traffic is heavy in the evening.
A Facebook user, Stephen Legal, in a post, lamented that LASTMA officers and policemen regularly extorted money from motorists, especially those not familiar with the route.
He noted that instead of preventing motorists from taking the bridge after the 3pm time frame, the officers wait for them at the end of the bridge.
“Somewhere around Dopemu in Lagos, LASTMA has been unjustly dealing with people and extorting them in the name of penalty. Take a look at this picture and imagine how many innocent people have fallen victim to this unreasonable notice.
“At best, LASTMA officials and police officers always hiding at the end of the bridge should be in a visible place to direct vehicles accordingly. Anything other than that is pure mischief and wickedness,” he wrote.
Several other people also noted that the extortion had been on for a while without the government doing something about it.
A user, Israel Balogun, said he had been fighting against extortion by both LASTMA and the police in the area.
Balogun said, “This is where I live and I have been fighting these thieves for the past two years, they recently changed the signpost to this visible one because of many fights we had with them. What we are simply saying is that why wait at the end of the bridge waiting for who will break the law when you can stand at the beginning of the bridge preventing innocent people from breaking the law they can’t believe exists. How would you know that the bridge that you passed in the morning is a one way by 3 pm? I am willing to join hands with others to make sure we force them to do the right thing please, let’s stand together.”
Another user, Ayoade Sikiru, said the state task force was also complicit.
“LASTMA and taskforce are the same; people have been saying that they work by instructions, for how long these complaints have been generated and we have not seen any response from the Lagos State Government?” he stated.
A user, Kola Showemimo, described the officials stationed around the bridge as criminals.
He stated, “The guys at the roundabout in Dopemu and Akowonjo are criminals. They have been doing this for a long time. They will take you to their office in Pen Cinema where a man would write the rubbish bill for you and after some time, you will part with N50k or N30k. They should change all that team and their controller.”
Our correspondent, who visited the area, confirmed the observations of the motorists.
Policemen and LASTMA officers stayed at the end of the bridge to catch motorists who used the flyover.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, urged motorists to report cases of extortion to the command for action.
He said, ”The police are there to serve the public and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, has made it clear that the command has zero tolerance for bribery.
“The police in Lagos have made available lines for complaints of cases like this and members of the public who have been subjected to such treatments should call to make their cases known.
“Also, if you are stopped and the police arrest you, once you reach the station, there’s a DPO in charge there. Get online; the DPO knows that it’s zero tolerance.”
The LASTMA spokesperson, Olumide Filade, did not take his calls which rang out several times.
He had also yet to respond to a text message from our correspondent on the allegations as of the time of filing this report.
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