Seizure of bus by Lagos taskforce: Driver douses self with petrol, sets self aflame

Frustrated by the high-handedness of the Lagos State Taskforce which impounded his commercial bus, the driver has set himself alight.

The driver, whose identity is not immediately known, was protesting the seizure of his bus in Ajao Estate area of Lagos.

After pleading with the officials unsuccessfully, he suddenly went for petrol, poured it on himself and ignited it, a source told Persecondnews.

The operatives of the task force from the State Ministry of Transportation who were on enforcement duties along the Murtala Muhammad Airport Road area connecting Ajao Estate had impounded some shuttle buses.

“The operatives went to clean up the Airport shuttle area and during the exercise, they impounded some buses and had a face-off with some of the drivers. 

“At a point, one of the frustrated drivers poured petrol on himself and set fire to himself, ” a witness said.

“The deceased was shouting and crying that he got the vehicle on higher purchase and taking the bus to Alausa Secretariat in Ikeja, the seat of power, is the end,” he said.

Contacted, the spokesman for state police command, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, said Police Commissioner  Abiodun Alabi, has ordered an investigation into the incident.

“The information we got was that there was resistance when task force from the ministry of transportation went for enforcement. 

“No policeman set any vehicle ablaze; policemen attached to the Ajao Estate Police Division were not involved in what happened. However, the Commissioner of Police has ordered investigation into the incident.”