By Bose Adelaja

LAGOS—THE son of late Mr. Sunday John, who was an Assistant Superintendent of Police, was yesterday arrested by the operatives of the Lagos State Task Force of the state’s Police Command for impersonating his father and extorting commercial bus drivers.

The suspect was a commercial bus driver plying Egbeda-Shasha route, but was arrested at 10a.m. in Oshodi while extorting money from some commercial bus drivers.

Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force, SP Olayinka Egbeyemi, who confirmed the development in a statement, disclosed that the suspect was caught wearing police cardigan and carrying an identity card, which belonged to his late father, who died last year in Lagos.

Egbeyemi said the suspect, who lives in Shasha, Egbeda, replaced his father’s picture with his on the identity card.

The suspect and his ID cars.

He confirmed that Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, has directed that the suspect be charged to court immediately.

Confession

In his confessional statement, the suspect was quoted as saying “I was working with a security company before my father died last year.

“But when salaries were being owed by my company, I was tempted to use my late father’s uniform and identity card to extort money from commercial drivers.”

He, however, pleaded with government to ‘temper justice with mercy,’ claiming it was devil’s work.

Commercial drivers react

Some commercial bus drivers, who witnessed the arrest, welcomed the development, claiming that the suspect collects a daily fee of N200 each from different commercial buses plying Egbeda-Shasha route.

Others commended Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for relocating the Lagos State Task Force office to Oshodi, to combat crime.

A member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Mr. Kamoru Babalola, said bus drivers have been lamenting the activities of the suspect.