Task Force Kill Man Going to Work, Police Denies ‘Murder’ Allegation

Tragedy struck in Oshodi on Tuesday morning after a group, Anti-One way and traffic offenders, set up by the Lagos State Government knocked down a man on his way to work while chasing a Danfo bus.

Eyewitnesses revealed that the Task Force was in a hot chase around 6:30 am on Tuesday and knocked down an innocent passerby who died at the spot.

A relative of the deceased called out the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on his Twitter page asking how he planned to safeguard the State.

He wrote, “Good morning Mr @jidesanwoolu never taught for once in my life I would do this your task force just killed my cousin in oshodi this morning. still came to win a big gun and won’t allow us the body. I don’t know if this how u promised to protect Lagosian”

Confirming the incident to the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, the Lagos State Police spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, denied the allegation of murder saying, “It is a case of a hit-and-run accident. Anybody can allege. The DPO in-charge of the area has sent in the details of the accident and we couldn’t trace the vehicle.

“Anybody who has contrary submission can come forward with it. It is a case of an accident and has nothing involving the Oshodi police taskforce.

“Anybody can allege. It is because of the nature of what we do. That’s how they allege SARS [sic] (now disbanded). The Taskforce is enforcing the law. It is a common thing for people to allege them [sic] because they don’t like what they (the latter) do’, he insisted.

The squad, set up in December 2020 by the Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakeem Odumosu, at the instance of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was saddled with the specific mandate to arrest and impound vehicles plying one-way BRT lanes and also motorcyclists operating in restricted areas.