The Lagos State Government has vowed to take disciplinary actions against Arise TV anchor, Rufai Oseni for driving on the dedicated lane for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).
The Chief Press Secretary to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Gboyega Akosile, in a statement via his Twitter handle, described the broadcast journalist as a lawbreaker saying he (Rufai) had already admitted his offence to the police.
He said Rufai would face the necessary penalty for flouting BRT rules.
Akosile stated in a tweet, “Thank you Rufai, while the @PoliceNG deal with the police officer in their own way, we’d ensure that necessary action is taken against you for driving on BRT lane as you’ve admitted to the police. You’re a lawbreaker and you should face the necessary penalties.”
Rufai had earlier in a Twitter post on Monday, alleged that a police officer pointed a gun at him while trying to enforce a traffic infraction.
He said he offered to pay for the infraction but “the police was hell-bent on forcefully collecting my keys and pointing a gun at me.”
His tweet reads, “A Nigerian police officer pointed a gun at me and forcefully took my keys and drove my car off, because he wanted to enforce a traffic infraction.”
But, Rufai in another tweet replied to Akosile, saying he did not deliberately break the law. He said he would not have passed the BRT lane if other drivers had not used the lane.
“I am not a lawbreaker. I saw cars pass through the Supposed BRT lane and they were not stopped. All of a sudden I was stopped and told to use the bus lane. If I don’t see other cars I will not go through, plus I want to be conversant with the road. In fact, after I was stopped three cars also Passed and nothing was done about them. I will never deliberately break the law. I just want to point that out,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, in a reaction to Rufai’s tweet, the Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Benjamin Hundeyin said the journalist violated traffic rules and resisted the officers.
He, however, added that the officer that pointed a gun at him would be sanctioned if Oseni’s claim was found to be true.
Hundeyin said, “Rufai, let’s not do this. You admitted to me that you passed a BRT lane. It’s against the law. Your claim that google maps took you there is not tenable. You disobeyed and resisted the officers. We’ll sanction the officer who misused firearms if proven.”
