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Tanker drivers, task force clash in Lagos

By Gbenga Akinfenwa and Sulaimon Salau
13 August 2015   |   11:25 pm
A FIERCE-BATTLE ensued yesterday between the Lagos State Task Force and tanker drivers at the Toyota Bus Stop along the Apapa/Oshodi expressway, which grounded both vehicular and commercial activities in the area.
Traffic snarl on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, recently

Traffic snarl on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, recently

A FIERCE-BATTLE ensued yesterday between the Lagos State Task Force and tanker drivers at the Toyota Bus Stop along the Apapa/Oshodi expressway, which grounded both vehicular and commercial activities in the area.

For the period the crisis lasted, shops and offices in the area were locked, as everybody scamper for safety when the drivers started throwing pebbles and other dangerous objects to pursue the task force comprising police and officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).

The Guardian learnt that the crisis started around 1:00 p.m. when the task force stormed the area to tow tankers indiscriminately parked on the service lane covering the Toyota/Five Star Bus Stop axis, which has for sometime now been hindering free flow of traffic on the axis.

It was gathered that after they had successfully towed three tankers, the drivers mobilised their members who stormed the area in their large numbers to attack the officials to protest against the action.

Some of the towing vehicles were vandalised in the process, which prompted the officials to fire gunshots and teargas canisters in order to flee the scene.

Sensing the gravity of their offence, the drivers unanimously agreed to move the illegally parked tankers into the premises of MRS Truck Staging Area, which they successfully did in less than 30 minutes.

All efforts to speak with officials of the state task force was futile as at the time of filing this report but a source, who does not want his name mentioned, said the drivers would pay dearly for their actions in line with the law of the state.

But some of the tanker drivers, who spoke with The Guardian, noted that the MRS parking lots couldn’t accommodate all trucks, which are expected to load products to various states of the federation.

He said: “We can never allow them to tow our trucks, the parking space is big but it cannot accommodate all tankers here, that is why we are managing to park beside the road and make sure that it does not obstruct traffic.”

It would be recalled that Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, had recently threatened to sanction erring tanker drivers who park indiscriminately on bridges and roads in Lagos.

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