Commercial and business activities in Igando and Iyana-Iba areas of Lagos were on Wednesday grounded as commercial bus drivers engaged officials of a Lagos State Task Force on traffic offences within the axis. The drivers were protesting what they termed as extortion by members of the task force .

 One of the drivers who gave his name as Isiaka Owolabi  said: “Enough is enough of this task force . If you stop your vehicle even at the bus stop, they would arrest you that you have committed an offence. You cannot settle them with anything less than N10,000. If they take you to their office, you would pay a fine of N30,000. This is why we are protesting. Today, drivers stormed one of their offices around Egan and released about 15 buses which they had seized “

The unrest which began as early as 10:00 am forced many commuters to trek several kilometers under the scorching  sun to their various destinations as commercial buses refused to pick passengers. The bus drivers patrolled the Isheri-LASU Expressway and effectively ensured that no bus broke their resolve not to pick passengers.

Commuters who could not trek waited for long hours to see if the situation would subside. Others had to return to wherever they were coming from. 

Commercial motorcyclists and tricyclists popularly known as Keke Marwa however took advantage of the development to charge exorbitant fares to convey some of the stranded commuters to their destinations.

People & People gathered that trouble started on Tuesday evening when officials of the Task Force impounded no fewer than 15 vehicles for allegedly queuing on the road to pick passengers.

The affected drivers and others at the scene, according to an eye-witness,  demanded the release of their vehicles. The ensuing scuffle reportedly led to some injuries and damage to at least three vehicles.

Their efforts to forcefully recover the impounded vehicles however proved abortive as they were overpowered by armed security officers attached to the Task Force.

Attempts by People & Power to speak to members of the Task Force proved unsuccessful. However, the situation began to return to normal at about 5.oopm.