News reaching CASEFILE says a staff of Lagos State Ministry of Transportation accused of being involved in an unlicensed enforcement activity has been exonerated.
Recall that Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, said one Olalekan Edu, 51 years was arrested with Taiwo Falodun, alias Biggy, 48 years, Adedire Olaniyi, 42 years, and Femi Osunkoya, 53 years for extorting motorists in the State while posing as officials of the disbanded Lagos State Committee on the Removal of Abandoned Vehicles, RAVC and that Olalekan Edu came with Taiwo Falodun to solicit the release of the two of the alledged extortioners before he was arrested.
According to the agency on Sunday, the gist is now that the Assistant Director of Transport Operations Mr. Olalekan Edu is innocent of the allegation against him following a thorough investigation.
Below is the statement exonerating him
The Lagos State Ministry of Transportation has exonerated its officer, Mr. Nuhman Edu, an Assistant Director of Transport Operations from alleged involvement in an unlicensed enforcement activity.
A statement issued by the Ministry said the Officer, who was earlier accused of collaborating with suspected agents to carry out unauthorised enforcement, came out blameless after a thorough investigation of the incident.
It explained that Edu received a notice from the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) that some staff of the Ministry had been arrested for carrying out unauthorised enforcement duties and in line with his responsibility as the Secretary in charge of enforcement-related issues in the Ministry, he was invited to identify the suspects.
Thereafter, he proceeded to RRS office, saw the suspects and confirmed that they were not members of the disbanded Adhoc Staff of the Removal of Abandoned Vehicle Committee (RAVC).
“He was directed to write a statement to this effect but, subsequently, the RRS Officer in charge mistook Mr. Edu as an accomplice in the extortion of the public. The RRS personnel insisted that he must be charged with the suspects without contacting his Supervisor/Director at the Ministry to further verify claims”, the statement said.
Unfortunately, Mr. Edu’s photograph was taken and used to defame him on social media, damaging the reputation of a very loyal and hardworking staff of the Ministry.
While decrying the negative online publicity and the untoward damage to the officer’s reputation, the release maintained that Mr. Edu was not and has never been involved in any illegal operation while discharging his statutory responsibilities, insisting that he is a very hardworking, loyal and dedicated civil servant.
The Transportation Ministry urged members of the public to disregard the misleading and unfounded allegation, declaring that the officer had been decorated as an outstanding officer without any blemish during his career spanning over two decades in the Lagos State Civil Service.
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