An Hypertensive Bureau De Change operator suffered cardiac arrest when his car was seized by two officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority in Surulere, Lagos State.
The operator known as Modibo Usman, who was hypertensive, was being driven by his son, Mustapha, to the Foremost Radiology Consultant Hospital on Ogunlana Drive, located at Surulere, to obtain a test result for his daughter, Ummu, when they met the officers.
Mustapha said his father had an appointment with his doctor at the Living Heart Hospital in the Lekki area of the state also on the same day,
He said two LASTMA officers paused him from driving for allegedly disobeying traffic light, his father then pleaded that he was on his way for a medical emergency but the officers turned deaf ears .
He alleged that the officers demanded a N50,000 bribe to release the vehicle.“My father and I kept pleading with them but the officers refused. My father was even crying and telling them that he had a medical emergency but they said that is what people usually say.“The two officers ordered us to go to the back seat and they sat at the front and started driving us to the Foremost Radiology Consultant Hospital. My father continued crying that he was in an emergency; they then demanded N50,000 to release us.“But when we got to the hospital, we quickly rushed to get the test result to show them so we could continue our journey to see his doctor at Lekki but the officers and the vehicle were nowhere to be found when we returned.“Instantly, my dad suffered a shock and collapsed. I quickly alerted the nurses where we picked my sister’s result and they rushed to attend to him and confirmed him dead.“When I rushed to the LASTMA office to inform the officers that what they did had caused my father’s death, they started saying I could take the vehicle but I left it there and called our relative, Mrs Yosi Yaduma, to inform her about what happened.”Mustapha said.
Yaduma also said she reported the case at the Area Command in Surulere and the two officers were arrested. The case was however transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba.
According to Yaduma ,Modibo was the breadwinner of his family who is survived by two wives and 11 children.Justice is however demanded from the family members following the death of their breadwinner.
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