By Desire Emmanuel
A Lagos resident, Eniola Abidemi, on Tuesday morning, wrote the Nigeria Police Force, saying an official from the Lagos State Police Command is notorious for collecting N200 from tricycles at night on a road in the state.
The citizen said this on his X handle, saying the officer, whose name he gave as ASP M.A. Oparinde, used to stand at Sabo, Yaba, and always collects the money from every tricycle rider that passes the road late at night.
In a swift reaction, the Nigeria Police, through its Complaint Response Unit (CRU), told him that his complaint had been forwarded to the police authorities in the state for necessary action.
According to Abidemi, the police officer has been constituting a nuisance on the road for some time, as he usually comes out late at night to extort tricycle riders plying Sabo, Yaba.
He added that his act was resisted by the riders last night as it led to a confrontation and almost resulted in a rage if not for the intervention of some motorists and other road users.
He therefore urged the Nigeria Police, especially the Lagos State Police Command, to call Officer ASP Oparinde, whom he described as “slim and about 5’8 tall,” to order.
Many residents of the state have always complained about the high-handedness of some police officers, especially on various roads, who are fond of mounting roadblocks and extorting residents, particularly road users, of various amounts of money.
