Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit (Taskforce) on Sunday said none of its operatives was involved in the seizure of a Toyota Corolla car with registration no EPE 409 GN as alleged by its owner, one Mr Bimbo Gbenebitse, an Uber driver.
Gbenebitse had in a story circulating on social media, captioned: “Stopping At Obstruction Should Not Make My Car Disappear Forever,” alleged that his Toyota Corolla car that was impounded on January 21, 2021, at Ojota by police officers from Lagos State Task Force, operating inside a T4 bus and could, thereafter, not be located at the agency’s car park at Alausa, Ikeja.
Chairman of the agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye, denied the allegation in a statement made available to newsmen, describing it as untrue.
Jejeloye, who said the attention of the agency was drawn to the report, maintained that the allegation by the Uber driver, Mr Gbenebitse, was not true as the operatives of the Task Force had since 2020 suspended enforcement operations around Ojota since the commencement of road rehabilitations from Mile 12 to Ojota by the Lagos State government.
“The attention of the operatives of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit (Taskforce) has been drawn to the above-captioned story circulating on social media by one Mr Bimbo Gbenebitse an Uber driver.
“Mr Bimbo Gbenebitse (Uber driver) inside the story alleged that his Toyota Corolla car (EPE 409 GN) that was impounded on the 21st of January, 2021 at Ojota by police officers from Lagos State Task Force inside a T4 bus could not be located at the Agency’s car park at Alausa, Ikeja.
“It is pertinent to state categorically that the allegation by Mr. Bimbo Gbenebitse (Uber driver) was not true as the operatives of the agency had since last year (2020) suspended enforcement operations around Ojota since the commencement of road rehabilitations from Mile 12 to Ojota by the Lagos State Government,” the Task Force said.
Jejeloye, who noted that the suspension of enforcement operations around the axis was to pave for traffic diversions for motorists by the government, asserted that it was on record that the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation gave such directive that all enforcement operations be suspended by all government agencies along Mile 12 to Ojota.
This was just as he debunked the use of commercial bus (T4) by the enforcement team of the agency as alleged by the Uber driver, Gbenebitse, saying that the body does not use any other vehicle for any enforcement operations apart from Hilux vehicle with a bold inscription of Lagos State Task Force on it.
Jejeloye disclosed that any police officer without a black sleeveless jacket with a bold inscription ‘LASG TASKFORCE’ and name tag on his uniform was not attached to the agency, urging motorists particularly commercial bus drivers to report on spot via 08180442004 any such officer using commercial buses to arrest them for flouting traffic regulations across the state particularly around Oshodi to Abule-Egba and Ikorodu Road.
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