An orange cab
Ifo
Local Government Area of Ogun State and some operators of Orange Cab, a
modern taxi service based in Lagos State, are locked in battle, with
the operators accusing officials of the local government of harassment
and illegal arrest of their members.
The operators said the recent arrests of
two of the orange cab drivers, Temitope Adeoye and Williams Kpelly,
were instances of their ordeals in the hands of Ifo council officials.
The drivers were arrested for parking at
Kara end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Both drivers claimed they were
tricked by the officials only to be extorted later for alleged illegal
parking and obstruction.
Kpelly said, “I was driving along the
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in May when some men flagged me down at Kara.
Thinking they were potential passengers, I slowed down and drove the car
off the expressway.
“To my surprise, the men entered my cab
and removed the car key. I asked them what my offence was and they said I
had parked illegally. Although I protested that they were the ones who
stopped me and that I was only doing my job, they refused to listen.
“They drove me to the area office of the
local government and fined me N50,000. I told them that I did not have
such amount. After some pleading, I was allowed to take the cab away,
but they collected N30,000 from me.”
Adeoye, also told PUNCH Metro that he was deceived into parking at the same Kara end of the expressway by the officials of the local government last week.
He said, “Last Wednesday, I was driving
along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; I actually wanted to make a U-turn
back to Lagos. Before I could get to the place where I would make the
U-turn, a guy in suit flagged me down. When I stopped, he asked me to
take him to the Redemption Camp.”
He said as they were discussing the
fare, the supposed passenger got into the car and took its key. Shocked,
Adeoye said he questioned the stranger’s actions, only to be told that
it was a government directive that no one parked or stopped at Kara. He
said while the argument went on, three other men on a motorcycle
approached them.
Adeoye said, “They all told me that my
offence was that I was picking up passengers along the expressway. They
insisted on driving the car to their area office at Ojodu Abiodun. So, I
sat at the back. On the way, they tried to coerce me to pay N15,000 but
I refused. They told me that my situation would be worse if they took
me to their office, but I still refused.
“When we got there, my fine went up to
N35,000. There were so many other people like myself there. I was there
for hours trying to get my cab and since I couldn’t leave it there, I
had to plead with them to accept all I had on me which was N7,000. It
was already 6pm and my tyres had been deflated.”
When PUNCH Metro contacted the
Head of Logistics and Enforcement, Ifo Area Office, Mr. Bunmi Ekunngba,
he said, “I am aware of all the incidents with orange cab drivers. I
know all our boys who are on ground enforcing our laws and there is none
of them who goes about without his uniform.
“If you are talking about the orange
cab; they are based in Lagos, but what they are doing in Ogun State is
bad. These are the same set of people that we caught with guns in their
vehicles but they claimed they only picked the passengers on the road,
adding that they were not aware that the passengers were armed.
“They had stopped at Kara on the
expressway to pick up passengers but our enforcement team went over to
find out what was going on and discovered guns in their cars. That place
was given to Ifo Local Government Area to handle; the government is
aware of our activities. A lot of people have been killed at Kara,
including a retired general. That is why our enforcement team is there.”
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