Lagos bus drivers strike over alleged multiple extortion, commuters stranded

By Adebola Muili

Commercial bus drivers operating along the Iyana-Ipaja/Iyana-Iba axis of Lagos on Monday withdrew their services in protest against alleged incessant extortion by the police, traffic officials, transport unions and other groups, leaving commuters stranded along the busy corridor.

The strike, which affected commuters travelling between Iyana-Ipaja, Iyana-Iba and adjoining areas, came as drivers complained that the growing number of daily and weekly payments demanded from them had made commercial transportation increasingly difficult.

The Hope gathered from interactions with some minibus operators at Mile 2 on Monday that drivers plying routes connecting Mile 2, Orile, Alaba, Iyana-Iba and Okokomaiko are subjected to multiple payments from the beginning to the end of their operations.

The operators, who pleaded anonymity for safety reasons, also complained that there had been no meaningful intervention from the union to assist them when they faced problems or challenges arising from their operations.

One of the operators explained that some minibuses painted white and bearing the Cantonment logo are required to pay N5,000 monthly and another N500 daily at the same barracks.

According to him, another group known as Progress allegedly collects N500 daily or N3,500 weekly for registration.

At Orile, the operators alleged that a man known as “Yellow”, whom they identified as a police officer but said is rarely seen in uniform, previously collected N200 daily from each minibus but has now increased the amount to N400.

The operators further alleged that an additional N200 is collected by traffic officers at about five different points in Orile.

They also alleged that at Alaba, Orile and Mile 2, some individuals collect money purportedly for Lagos State tickets without issuing the actual tickets.

According to the operators, this means that minibuses seeking to travel beyond those routes may still be required to pay another Lagos State ticket fee, as well as additional payments to agberos.

Giving a breakdown of the charges allegedly incurred on the Orile-Okokomaiko route, one of the operators said drivers pay N300 for booking, N200 to a traffic officer and another N200 for loading at Doyin Orile on each trip.

“At Orile Bus Stop, we pay another N200 to the police. At the same point, we also pay N200 to the traffic officers and N200 to MOPOL,” he said.

At Mile 2, the operators alleged that they pay N800 where the vehicle has no logo and N500 where it bears a logo.

They further listed N200 at First Gate, N500 at Abule Ado, N350 at Under Bridge and N700 at Iyana-Iba, with N400 of the latter allegedly going to a traffic officer.

The operators said they had previously complained about the collections at Iyana-Iba, alleging that the woman involved had subsequently started using young boys to collect the money in an apparent attempt to make the payments appear to be agbero collections.

At the Iyana-Iba Untop Bridge, they alleged that drivers pay N200 to different police officers from different stations, sometimes making the payment as many as five times in a day.

The operators said a similar situation occurs at Okokomaiko, where N200 is allegedly demanded by police officers on the road, with drivers sometimes making the payment five times daily.

They also alleged that booking fees at Orile vary depending on the day, with N1,200 reportedly collected on Mondays and Thursdays and N700 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

According to the operators, Lagos State Taskforce collections allegedly stood at N1,700 from Monday to Thursday, rising to N2,000 on Fridays and Saturdays.

The operators expressed concern that despite the numerous payments, they do not receive adequate support from the union when their vehicles are impounded or when they encounter other challenges on the road.

One of them questioned how drivers operating under daily remittance arrangements could meet their obligations and still have enough income to support their families.

The development has heightened concerns over the impact of multiple levies on commercial transport operations in Lagos, particularly as commuters continue to bear the consequences through fares and disruptions whenever drivers withdraw their services.

The situation also echoes complaints earlier made to The Hope by keke and minibus operators on Lagos Island, who similarly alleged that they are subjected to multiple daily collections at different points along their routes.

The Lagos Island operators, who did not want their names in print, alleged that payments ranging from ticket and booking fees to marker charges, “owo turning” and repeated “owo loading” payments are collected from them.

They said the daily ticket, which previously cost N700, had risen progressively to N1,000, N1,200 and N1,500, with another N200 recently added, bringing it to N1,700. They alleged that there was also a proposal to increase the amount to N2,000.

The operators said the multiple levies were also partly responsible for the failure of fares to fall for those who had converted their vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

“For those of us who have converted to CNG, the fare has not reduced because we still have all these payments to make. The money we save on fuel is taken by the different levies and collections we pay every day,” one of them said.

They appealed to NURTW leadership, particularly Mustapha Sego and other senior officials, to intervene and address what they described as the hardship facing commercial transport operators.

“Mustapha Sego and other senior officials of the NURTW need to show more human feelings and consider the hardship we are facing,” one of the operators said.

The operators also appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat and Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to pay attention to the alleged financial burden on transport operators.

“Sego, please don’t let anyone start blaming the President because of the way we transporters are being extorted,” another operator said.

The allegations made by the operators could not be independently verified by The Hope, while those interviewed declined to disclose their identities, citing concerns for their safety.

The drivers called for greater accountability and an urgent review of the various collections, warning that the continued burden could further affect both transport operators and commuters across Lagos.