The joy in the hearts of commercial drivers, civil servants and policemen attached to the Lagos Environmental and Special Offence unit was limitless after news filtered in that the agency’s chairman and a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Shola Jejeloye, has been taken to The Rapid Respond Squad (RRS) to further serve the state.
The jubilation spilled from the agency headquarters in Oshodi to Lagos metropolis especially among commercials bus drivers as the news of his replacement with CSP Adetayo Akerele spread across the state.
As gathered, the jubilant workers and law enforcement officer commended the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Commissioner for Police, Adegoke Fayoade, for removing him from the agency.
Both the staff and ad-hoc workers were elated 24 hours after that Jejeloye, who had been linked previously with some cases of land grabbing across the state, has been removed.
But their joy was halted after they realised that Jejeloye, rather than hand over affairs of the agency, he released impounded vehicles and commercial motorcycles popularly called Okada, even those that had been brought before the mobile court were alleged to have been released.
A staff, who didn’t want his name made public, told The Guild that: “We are happy that Jejeloye has been redeployed elsewhere”.
He noted that their joy was that he and his colleagues would not have to panic while working for the agency, saying our former boss is not approachable, a development that affects the team’s enforcement operations.
While wishing him well in his future endeavors, the staff alleged Jejeloye didn’t give room for his subordinates to approach him and divulge information or request for what they discover could assist them have better enforcement results rather, he takes decisions without seeking the workers input before embarking on major operations.
Another staff added: “You know w e cannot just be dancing publicly but I can tell you for a fact that everyone is celebrating his removal from the agency including his colleagues, policeman, deployed to the agency”.
She stated that after Jejeloye’s redeployment was made, he immediately released some vehicles that had been impounded traffic law in the state.
According to her, he hurriedly released some of the vehicles that were impounded for contravening the traffic law to their owners without accordance to the stipulations recommended by law.
The source noted that Jejeloye’s removal was God’s intervention on the agency, saying it was under his leadership that we start having Lagosians linking Taskforce to land grabbing and other Sundry issues that prevent effective enforcement of the law.
The joy of the commercial drivers was that the illegal arrest strategy adopted by Taskforce under Jejeloye’s watch will stop and there will not be frequent clashes between motorists and the law enforcement agency.
Also, some stakeholders in the property sector have also hailed the move considering the face-off they often had with the former Taskforce Chairman, who they had alleged interfere in their businesses.
While they were rejoicing, the Lagos State workers and policemen attached to RRS have started lamenting that Jejeloye shouldn’t have been transferred to the agency.
They noted that his activities in Taskforce is not hidden to them and his redeployment to the agency could cripple the better welfare they enjoyed under their former boss, Saheed Egbeyemi.
Jejeloye’s redeployment was confirmed through a statement released by the Director, Press and Public Affairs, Lagos State Taskforce, Abdulraheem Gbadeyan, who disclosed tha the former Taskforce boss has been redeployed to the Rapid Respond Squad (RRS) to replace CSP Saheed Egbeyemi, who has been removed from the office to continue serving the nation elsewhere as a policeman.
According to him, CSP Akerele, the new Chairman, who is a seasoned administrator and a super cop, was the former Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Lane Monitoring and Enforcement Commander, will be taking over leadership of the agency.
After The Guild story, promoting his redeployment to a higher office, rather than appreciate the agency, Jejeloye was alleged to have directed Gbadeyan to counter the report.
According to the statement, “The attention of the Lagos State Taskforce has been drawn to an online publication made by the The Guild on the 26th of June 2024 regarding the redeployment of the former Chairman of the Agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye to the RRS.
“The publication which creates a questionable impression that CSP Jejeloye was removed by the Commissioner of Police seemed suggestive and quoted out of context as originally presented by the Director Public Affairs of the Agency.
‘To clear the air, CSP Shola Jejeloye has been redeployed to the Rapid Response Squad to further discharge his duties with utmost diligence, dedication and steadfastness just as he did while serving as the helmsman of the Lagos State Taskforce. The recent redeployment only showcases that CSP Shola Jejeloye has more to offer Lagosians in terms of safety and security of lives and property .
‘We disregard any malicious intent put up by the Guild and urge them to report and deliver their stories accurately and avoid painting pictures which could be misleading to members of the public”.
