A human rights activist, Segun O’law, has raised concerns over widespread extortion allegedly involving police officers and government officials in various parts of Lagos State.

O’law was seen in a viral video installing road signs along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, highlighting how some motorists were being unfairly targeted by law enforcement officers.

In the video, he explained how police officers deliberately wait for unsuspecting motorists to drive on unmarked restricted roads before arresting them for alleged one-way violations.

Speaking, O’law said the motorists were usually coerced into paying large sums of money to avoid having their vehicles impounded.

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He also lamented the lack of proper road signage on federal roads, which he believed was being exploited for extortion.

He said, “We are doing this because the road is a federal road and nobody would imagine that there will be an unmarked road along the area. Imagine someone coming from Sagamu, driving through Abeokuta down to Sango, then got to Abule Egba and after descending the bridge, entered a restricted lane ahead on federal road. How will an interstate driver expect to enter a restricted lane without signage?

“That is where we have the issue. It takes less than a litre of paint to write, ‘Do not enter here’ but they prefer not to put it because they want to extort. These activities are being carried out by some police officers who hide to arrest the motorists.”

Speaking on what informed his decision, O’law said the extortion had escalated to an alarming level, describing the scale as overwhelming.

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He said, “Nothing else prompted the action than the fact that the extortion was getting too much. Now, it is no longer N5000 or N10,000. It is now N150,000, N200,000 and N300,000 that they extort from people. They use scare tactics by driving the victim to a corner and threatening to take him to the station and thereafter charge him to court from where their vehicles get impounded. And since no one wants their vehicle impounded, they will ask them to bring that amount. And because Lagosians are not that patient, a lot of them just part with the money.

“So they are making the money every day. You can’t even imagine the number of people they milk every day. It has become so alarming that we have to stop it. If you stand there for one hour, you will lose count of the motorists they rip off.”

He however noted that the exercise was still ongoing along the expressway in the meantime.

He said, “We are still along the Sango-Oshodi Road. The BRT lane along the corridor is what we are still covering. Most of the BRT lanes in the state are unmarked. By the time, we are done with that, we will move to Ketu-Ikorodu Road. It is a movement already and we just can’t stop because we have to rescue ourselves from the hands of this extortionist.”

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The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, could not be reached as calls made to his telephone were not responded to. A text message sent to him had yet to be replied to as of the time this report was filed.

The PUNCH had in a four-part series reported how police and government officials extort motorists plying unmarked routes in the state.

This was after the Lagos State Government prohibited driving against traffic (one-way) and auctioned 134 vehicles forfeited by their owners over the offence.

The exercise was greeted with mixed reactions, as some residents recounted driving on unmarked roads and accused the state government of not fulfilling its part.

The areas visited by our correspondent in the report included Mushin, Itire, Yaba, Dopemu, Iyana Oworo, Ajao Estate and Oshodi Isolo areas.