@csrf

26.03.2021 Social Justice LASTMA Officers Confiscate FIJ Reporter’s Phone, ID for Filming Them Extorting ‘Danfo’ Driver

Published 26th Mar, 2021

By Gabriel Ogunjobi

Socrates Mbamalu, a journalist with Foundation for Investigative Journalism and Social Justice (FIJ), was harassed on Friday morning at Anthony, Ikorodu Road, by Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officers after filming them for illegally detaining a public bus driver.

His phone and identity card have also been seized. 

While on a field assignment, Mbamalu said he suspected that the LASTMA officers were trying to extort the driver, prompting his decision to stop over to report the incident.

“One of the LASTMA officers spotted me at a corner filming as they dragged the driver beside a private residence at Anthony road linking to Oshodi,” he said.

READ ALSO: Why Lagos Bus Driver Set Himself Ablaze in the Presence of LASTMA Officials from Oshodi

“What I saw was close to torture and a clear human rights violation. No one would have known what the driver was experiencing if I had not stopped.”

Mbamalu says he can recognise the LASTMA officers, numbering about six in number, adding: “One of them, apparently a frequently-praying Muslim, has a markedly black spot on his forehead.”

Mbamalu added that if he had not quietly left the scene, his experience may have degenerated to the type that led to the death of Pelumi Onifade who was shot to death in October 2020 by the Lagos Task Force while covering a crisis between hoodlums and the police officers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Published 26th Mar, 2021

By Gabriel Ogunjobi

Advertisement

Our Stories

Breaking news

BREAKING: CBN Raises Capital Base for Big Banks to N500b

Nigerian Army

Why Declaring 8 People Wanted for Okuama Massacre Puts Nigerian Army in Contempt of Court

KFC

4 Times PWDs Accused KFC of Discrimination in Different Countries

FIJ Longlisted for One World Media Award — The 3rd Time in a Row

Okuama Resident Who Said Slain Soldiers Were Not for Peacekeeping on Army’s Wanted List

Month-Long Power Outage Forces UCH Doctors to Perform Surgeries With Phone Lights

Army Names 8 People Wanted for Okuama Massacre

LP Reserves 2027 Presidential Ticket for Obi

‘For His Disability, KFC Humiliates Ex-Governor Gbenga Daniel’s Son at Lagos Airport’

Jail

Lagos Resident Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Sexually Assaulting 5-Year-Old

Advertisement