Lagos deputy governor calls Lekki car spotting ‘criminal’, vows crackdown

Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat has described the practice of car spotters stopping luxury vehicles along the Lekki-Epe Expressway as criminal, vowing that the state government will clamp down on those involved.

Mr Hamzat disclosed this during an appearance on Nigeria Info FM, where broadcaster Jimi Disu raised concerns about car spotters stopping luxury vehicles along the corridor and urged the deputy governor to intervene.

Car spotting, a pastime in which enthusiasts seek out, photograph or record unusual, exotic and luxury vehicles, is practised in several cities around the world. However, Mr Hamzat’s concern centred on individuals stopping vehicles along the road.

“That is criminal and therefore, we will not allow it. We will take a lot of them off the streets,” he said.

Lagos-Epe road

Additionally, the deputy governor said the state government had arrested several people following Mr Disu’s complaint about individuals he described as a menace to society.

Mr Hamzat said surveillance cameras installed along the road had helped security agencies identify the suspects.

He added that authorities recently arrested some of those identified.

“Well, a lot of people have been arrested. If you commit… a lot of cameras are also on that road, and people have been seen.

“And I can show you people; some people are in the Magistrate Court today. They were arrested last week or so. I think towards the end, no, over the weekend,” he said.

Harassment

Mr Hamzat also condemned the harassment of guests by area boys at the wedding of TikTokers Habeeb “Peller” Hamzat and Amadou “Jarvis” Aminata, describing the incident as unacceptable.

He remarked while responding to a caller who asked what the government was doing to regulate such activities.

The deputy governor said the government needed to regulate several areas of public life.

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“I don’t know if you’ve seen the video. Some boys are saying, ” Oh, we know Peller. He used to be here. He must give us our own. And a lot of them are giving cash. So as a society, that must be unacceptable. So the reality is that if we say, “Oh, it’s okay.” We cannot control anything. Then we must be able to live with what we see as a people.

“It’s one of the things that we mentioned: there’s a time in the National Assembly, some people submitted a bill to regulate social media. And people went all over. Lawyers were saying freedom…There is no nation where you don’t control things. Social media is a tool. I’m a computer scientist. It’s a tool. But, you know, we have this belief that, oh, we cannot just do anything.”