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Several <a href="http://uber.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uber</a> drivers in Lagos have reportedly been arrested by the police task force in Lagos while sleeping in their cars. This was disclosed to Technext by the public relations officer of the Lagos chapter of the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON), Steven Iwindoye. 
According to the PRO, the drivers were arrested late on Tuesday night (September 3) during a coordinated raid by the police. The incident occurred in the Osapa London area of Lekki in Lagos state. The drivers were subsequently taken to the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Enforcement Unit (Lagos Police Taskforce) office in Oshodi, Lagos. 
The drivers were swiftly charged to court on Wednesday morning (September 4). Though they were reportedly granted bail, they were remanded in prison pending the perfection of their bail. 
“Some members of app-based transport workers popularly AKA Uber or Bolt drivers were arrested by men of Nigeria police taskforce in Osapa London and the environment last night for sleeping along the street in their respective vehicles. They were later charged to court on three count charges and have been reminded in Kirikiri corrections centre pending the perfection of their bail,” the PRO said. 
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<h4 id="uber-drivers-raid-might-be-linked-to-the-murder-of-lagos-prince" class="wp-block-heading">Uber drivers’ raid might be linked to the murder of Lagos Prince</h4> 
There are strong suspicions that the raid and arrest of Uber drivers might be linked to an ongoing investigation into the murder of a Lagos prince, Demola Akinloye. Demola, who was the son of Tijani Akinloye, the Ojomu of Ajiranland in Lagos, was brutally murdered in late August in Lagos. 
Demola was reportedly driving near the Bourdilon Court Estate gate around 12:30 pm when four armed men reportedly shot and stabbed him to death. A driver, via a voice note, claimed that the killers came in an Uber Suzuki S-presso vehicle popularly called Uber Korope. 
&nbsp;“Task force came to Osapa and arrested all the Uber drivers that sleep in their cars. This morning, they took them to court. According to the information that I heard, they said it was because of Oba Ajiran’s son that they killed, that it was Uber Korope (Uber-Go Suzuki S-presso) that they used to hit the vehicle of the prince and when he came out they shot him. So now their target is all Uber drivers sleeping on the street,” a driver can be heard saying in a voice note. 
According to reports, the police task force came with two Black Maria trucks. They would then wake up the sleeping Uber drivers, seize their keys and put them in the Black Maria. They then took all their vehicles down to the police task force office in Oshodi. 
The reports claim that the police vans and Black Marias are still at Ilasan Police Station, the police post under whose jurisdiction the Osapa London area falls. This indicates that the raid will likely continue. 
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A voice note purportedly from one of the drivers arrested is also making the rounds. According to the driver who was desperately warning his colleagues, the police used tear gas during the raid, an act which caused everyone to flee. The driver suggested he had been taken away, presumably by the police, and that he had no idea what had happened to his vehicle. 
“Wherever you are, please run from Osapa. We are been tear-gassed right now and I can’t even continue talking. Everybody is coughing. I’m a victim of this. I’m inside the vehicle, where we are going to, I don’t know. Where my vehicle is, I don’t know. They have taken it and are driving it away,” the driver said in pidgin. 
To this end, the union assured that it was working to resolve the matter with the police. It also warned its members to exercise absolute caution and endeavour to avoid Osapa London and other places within the Lekki area. 
“If you must sleep over in your car until the union representatives can resolve this matter with the authorities, the raid will likely continue, so please ensure you find a different location or go home,” the union said. 
This reporter tried to reach the Lagos State Police spokesperson for comments on the story. But calls were neither picked up nor returned, and the official hasn’t responded to messages at the time of writing. This story will be updated as soon as we receive the official response from the Nigerian Police. 
See also: <a href="https://technext24.com/2024/09/04/fuel-price-uber-bolt-air-conditioning/">Fuel price hike: Uber/Bolt drivers now put off air conditioning, negotiate prices off-app</a>
The post <a href="https://technext24.com/2024/09/05/sleeping-uber-drivers-raid-murder-lagos/">Police raid sleeping Uber drivers in Lekki over murder of Lagos prince</a> first appeared on <a href="https://technext24.com">Technext</a>.

Police raid sleeping Uber drivers in Lekki over murder of Lagos prince

Technext.ng

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