I’ve Started Serious Monitoring – Lagos DPO Reacts To Politics Nigeria Report
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Iba Police Division, CSP Talabi Segun, says he has started monitoring police personnel following a report by Politics Nigeria on extortion at six checkpoints along LASU-Igando Road.
CSP Segun urged commercial drivers who experience the alleged extortion to visit his office and lodge formal complaints so that appropriate action can be taken against the officers involved.
“Please let the drivers come to my office and complain so that I can take proper action, please,” the DPO said in his initial reaction to the report..
“Thank you very much my brother. I have started a serious monitoring of those officers. God bless you sir,” he later added in a separate message to our reporter.
The drivers said the payments were demanded regardless of whether they had committed any traffic offence or possessed complete vehicle documents.
They also alleged that officers delayed motorists who refused to pay, scrutinised their documents and threatened to take them to the police station.
Chukwuebuka Onwuka, a commercial driver who has operated along the route since 2022, told Politics Nigeria that the alleged payments had increased from N50 to N100 and now N200 at each checkpoint.
“Only in this area, we have six checkpoints,” Onwuka said, identifying locations around Agboroko, NNPC Bus Stop, Iba Junction and both sides of the road before Obadore Bridge, as well as immediately after the bridge, as areas where officers collect money.
He said the practice occurred at different periods of the day and involved police personnel operating along the route.
According to Onwuka, officers of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) also operated around the bridge and other checkpoints in the evening, between approximately 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
He estimated that commercial drivers collectively paid N3,600 daily in the alleged collections.
“We are paying N3,600 to them every day,” he said.
Another driver, who identified himself as Frank, said he had experienced similar treatment despite possessing the necessary documents to operate his vehicle.
He listed his driver’s licence, driver’s badge, vehicle licence, roadworthiness certificate and ticket permit among the documents he carried.
Frank alleged that officers examined his documents but still demanded money, leaving drivers with little choice but to pay to avoid delays and inconveniencing their passengers.
He also questioned the number of checkpoints within a short distance, describing their concentration along the route as excessive.
“From here to that bridge, there are five checkpoints. They are too close,” he said.
Frank, however, acknowledged that not all police officers were involved in the alleged misconduct.
“I’m not saying they are all bad. The good ones are protecting me. But the experience is bad,” he added.
In an earlier response to Politics Nigeria, Segun had urged drivers to stop making unofficial payments to police officers and report personnel who demanded money from them.
“They should top giving the officers money. They should stand for their rights. Most of them are literates. They should come and report to the DPO. The DPO can’t be everywhere. Tell the drivers to come to me to point out the officers,” he said.
The DPO also defended the police presence along the road, citing security concerns around the university environment.
“This is a university environment. We had cases of bags snatching from the students,” he said.
He argued that residents had also complained about security incidents when police officers were not visible along the route.
“When the police are not on the road, people complain about several security incidents around the area. Now that the police are there, they are also complaining. It is a strategy of the bad boys,” Segun said.
