Police men allegedly push driver off Lagos bridge

Scene of the incident Photo: Facebook/Objectv

Police officers attached to the Odo Iya Alaro Link Bridge in the Maryland area, off Ojota, Lagos, have been accused of pushing a motorist off a bridge during an altercation over allegedly driving on a Bus Rapid Transit lane.

According to a video shared by Objectv Media on Facebook on Friday and obtained by Saturday PUNCH, the incident reportedly occurred after the officers flagged down the vehicle for an alleged BRT lane violation.

The encounter was said to have escalated into a heated argument over the penalty before the alleged assault occurred.

In the video, some police officers could be seen arguing with no fewer than 10 young men on top of the bridge.

The footage also captured the alleged victim, who was said to have been pushed off the bridge, surrounded by people believed to be sympathisers.

Speaking in the video in Pidgin English, the narrator could be heard saying, “All those BRT people who stay at the BRT lane in Maryland have pushed someone from the top of the bridge. This is how they hold motorists all the time and make them withdraw N50,000 or N80,000 as a fine.

“Look at them here. This is how they operate. They will stop vehicles on the BRT lane and impose fines of N80,000 or N100,000. Just because he refused to withdraw money for them, they pushed him off the bridge where everyone else was driving. Look at the person on the ground.

“This is how they stand at Odo Iya Alaro Bridge and harass people, claiming they drove on the BRT lane. They cause traffic and detain people. See what has happened now. While arguing with the man, they pushed him down from the top of the bridge.”

City Round could not verify the identity of the alleged victim or confirm whether he was alive or dead as of the time of filing this report.

BRT lane enforcement and monitoring in Lagos are managed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority under the Ministry of Transportation.

In July last year, the Lagos State Government temporarily suspended enforcement of the BRT lane along the Eko Bridge and Odo Iya Alaro corridor to ease growing traffic congestion.

However, in October, the state government announced the resumption of BRT lane enforcement on the two bridges.

When contacted, the Head of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs at LAMATA, Mr Kolawole Ojelabi, referred City Round to the Ministry of Transportation for comments.

However, calls made to the Director of Public Affairs at the Ministry of Transportation, Mrs Bolanle Ogunlola, did not connect, while a text message sent to her requesting comments had not been responded to as of the time of filing this report.

Efforts to reach the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, for comments were unsuccessful, as calls to his phone were not answered and a text message sent to him had not been replied to as of the time of filing this report.