A 52-year-old Canada returnee, Morufudeen Idowu, has been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) for allegedly assaulting an officer who tried to stop him from illegally crossing the expressway at Ojota.
The arrest was confirmed by the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, who shared details of the incident in a post via his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday.
"Mr Morufudeen Idowu, 52yrs, a Canada returnee, refused arrest and assaulted one of our personnel while crossing the expressway at Ojota. He has been taken into custody at the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps office in Oshodi and will be prosecuted in accordance with the relevant laws of the state," Wahab wrote.
Though full details of the altercation are yet to be released, reports indicate that LAGESC officials were conducting routine enforcement in the Ojota area, a known hotspot for pedestrian violations, when Idowu allegedly became violent.
The LAGESC officers, widely referred to as KAI officers, are responsible for ensuring public compliance with environmental and safety regulations across Lagos State. This includes preventing unsafe practices such as illegal expressway crossings, street trading, and dumping of refuse in unauthorised locations.
Authorities say illegal expressway crossings have led to numerous accidents and fatalities, prompting the government to scale up enforcement in high-risk zones like Ojota, Mile 2, and Oshodi. Pedestrians are required to use overhead pedestrian bridges to safely cross busy highways, a law that Idowu reportedly violated before becoming aggressive with enforcement officers.
Idowu remains in custody pending prosecution.
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