The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offenses Unit Taskforce has said the operatives were not involved in the extortion of a 77-year-old man by some unscrupulous individuals parading themselves as officials of the state’s taskforce.
The Taskforce chairman, Shola Jejeloye, a Chief Superintendent of Police in reaction to a publication by an online media platform that stated that the officials of the agency swindled an unsuspecting man of the sum of N55,000 for a traffic offense explained that some unscrupulous elements were out to tarnish the image of the agency.
“This is not the first time we are being accused of actions like this which turned out to be false but the handiwork of enemies of a serene, habitable and secure environment and impostors who are hell bent on dragging our name in the mud. We have been on the trail of these set of people scattered across the metropolis, impersonating officials of Taskforce in order to extort innocent Lagosians. We have put mechanisms in place to put a stop to it permanently.
‘‘There is no Taskforce office in Okota and as at the time of the extortion our men were busy in other locations.”
Jejeloye disclosed that the manner in which the operatives apprehended and extorted the victim goes against the tenets and modus operandi of the Lagos State Taskforce.
He stated that once an offender is apprehended, the vehicle is impounded and taken down to the Taskforce Yard in Alausa, while the offender is charged to the Court which is the terminal end of all traffic enforcement.
“We operate according to global best practices, that is why we do not apprehend without the agency’s branded vehicle being visible on the scene. Our men are well kitted with visible emblems and unique identification numbers inscribed on the front and back of their tactical jackets for easy identification. Vehicles are taken down to Taskforce Yard in Alausa when impounded while the offender is asked to come to the Mobile court at our headquarters” Jejeloye stated.
The chairman disclosed that he has reached out to the news outlet to provide the details of the victim and also asked him to come down to the headquarters of the agency for further investigations into the incident.
He appealed to Lagosians to look out for branded vehicles, branded tactical jackets with identification numbers and ID cards when being apprehended by so-called Taskforce officials. (Leadership)