Authorities Discredit Widely-Shared Clip Accusing Lagos Enforcement Team of Demanding Bribes

Moshood Jimoh, the Commissioner of Police for the Lagos State Command, revealed that a suspect drove against traffic and deliberately rammed a minibus, causing damage and putting lives at risk.

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On Monday, during an interactive session with the media at the command headquarters, CP Jimoh addressed allegations circulating on social media, describing them as misleading and malicious, and aimed at tarnishing the image of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Task Force.

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The Commissioner emphasized the critical role of the task force in maintaining order on the roads, protecting public spaces, and enforcing environmental regulations across the state, which has an estimated population of between 23 and 25 million residents.

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According to CP Jimoh, the controversy surrounding the task force stemmed from an incident on Friday, March 13, 2026, at about 6:30 a.m., when officers of the Safer Highway Patrol intercepted a driver, Lateef Adeyemo, who attempted to make a wrongful turn against traffic.

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In an attempt to evade arrest, the driver reversed his vehicle and rammed into an oncoming commercial minibus, damaging the vehicle and endangering the lives of passengers and law enforcement officers at the scene.

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The driver and his vehicle were subsequently handed over to the Lagos State Task Force for further investigation and prosecution, while the damaged minibus was towed to the task force office in Oshodi.

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CP Jimoh disclosed that the suspect, Lateef Adeyemo, resisted arrest, obstructed traffic, and caused a gridlock in the area, disrupting normal commercial activities, and that task force operatives applied minimal force to remove him from the road and restore normal traffic flow.

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Preliminary investigations also revealed that the suspect attempted to incite bystanders against the officers, resulting in stones and other objects being thrown at security personnel.

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The viral video circulating online, according to CP Jimoh, was recorded by the suspect while he was being transported from the scene and did not capture the events that led to his arrest, deliberately obscuring the facts of the incident and portraying the officers in a bad light.

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The suspect was arraigned before a mobile court sitting in Oshodi on four counts, including conduct likely to cause breach of peace, driving against traffic, obstruction of public officers in the discharge of their duties, and malicious damage to property.

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The court granted the suspect bail but remanded him in prison custody after he failed to meet the bail conditions, a decision made solely by the court after the suspect was charged, not by the police.

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CP Jimoh urged motorists to obey traffic rules and appealed to members of the public and the media to verify information before publication and support efforts aimed at maintaining law and order in the state.