Bolaji said he was in a bus on the said date around Oshodi and Ikeja when they were stopped by a LASTMA official.
A man simply identified as Bolaji has narrated his ugly experience with officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) after he was arrested from a commercial vehicle he boarded on July 13.
Bolaji said he was in a bus on the said date around Oshodi and Ikeja when they were stopped by a LASTMA official.
According to him, the bus was locked at the time but the official identified simply as Fabowale tried to open the door forcefully which made him (Bolaji) sustain a cut on his arm as he was sitting close to the door.
He said this got him infuriated alongside other passengers in the bus who spoke against how the official was going about his job.
However, as the bus arrived at its destination, Bolaji said he was not only brutalised but also forced to delete the pictures he took of the LASTMA official discharging his duties unprofessionally.
Bolaji said he was not only assaulted by the LASTMA officials but also taken to their office and locked up for over two hours in the office toilet, after which his life was allegedly threatened.
He said: “I was severally brutalised, beaten, assaulted, locked up in the toilet for over two hours by LASTMA officials and had my life threatened by their superior on Tuesday, 13th July 2021.
“On Tuesday, 13th of July 2021, around 8:00 am, I was on my way to work at PWD (between Oshodi and Ikeja) and I was being conveyed by a yellow Volkswagen bus, popularly called 'Danfo' when LASTMA officials took control of the bus, saying the conductor was hanging by the door.
“The door of the bus was locked at the time when the LASTMA official (Fabowale) was trying to forcefully open it and I was sitting right by the door; the action led to a cut on my right hand, which infuriated me, so as I was angry. Other passengers and I in the bus expressed our utmost displeasure at the way he was going about his job.
“With this, he started insulting us and hurling curses at me and other commuters, coupled with the fact that he was also committing the same offence by hanging on the door without considering his own safety or that of the commuters. This prompted me to take his pictures and apparently that didn't deter him as he continued with his abusive words and curses. Hhe also said I should even do more because no one can do anything to him and that he's untouchable.
“When we got to PWD, his other colleagues joined him and took my phone from me, asking me to delete the pictures, thereby trying to wipe off the evidence that the event ever occurred.
“Still because of his pictures taken, they didn't stop at taking my phone and deleting pictures from it. They forced me onto the bus and started taking their turns to assault me from inside the bus till they got to their office at PWD.
“Getting to the LASTMA office at PWD, all the LASTMA officials on duty (at least 15 of them) took turns to beat me and many of them took objects at their reach to attack me. After then, I was locked up in their toilet for over 2 hours where they came in batches to assault me. Some made direct attempts at my life, while others said they could kill and dump my remains anywhere and no one could trace it to them. Considering their actions and coordination of assault that day, I am sure that is what they specialise in doing.
“After spending over 2 hours in their toilet, I was led to their commander's office, the junior commander (an indigene of Ekiti, who drives a Toyota Camry), he specifically told the senior commander that he would prefer to rather hit me with charms that would kill me than to let me go.
“The senior commander forced me to write a statement which does not describe the true event that occurred and then called police officers from Area F. The police officers came, handcuffed me, and took me in the junior commander's car to their station at Area F command. During this time, I was denied access to my phone and they did not allow me to contact anyone, so in case I lost my life, it wouldn't be traced back to them.
“At the Area F police command, the police officer threatened me, thereby forcing me to write a statement that does not truly describe the event.”