The Lagos State Task Force has arrested 51 street urchins, popularly called ‘area boys’, for harassing and extorting truck drivers along the Apapa/Oshodi expressway.

Confirming the arrest, the spokesperson for the agency, ABDULRAHEEM GBADEYAN, said the suspects have been arraigned before a mobile court within the premises of the agency for extortion and public nuisance.

According to him, these individuals have been identified for their brazen tactics; coercing truck drivers to part with money under the pretext of working for the defunct Lagos State Parks and Garages Agency.

GBADEYAN said the gang operated with impunity and subjected many drivers to physical harm and acts of bestiality when they resist extortion. 

The task force’s chairman, SHOLA JEJELOYE who led the operation expressed disgust at the activities of the miscreants, despite an official pronouncement banning their activities late last year. 

He described their guts as baffling because they threaten victims day and night, without regard for existing laws in the state.

The task force boss said eight of the suspects who pleaded guilty were sentenced to seven months imprisonment with an option of 65,000 naira fine, while the remaining 43 pleaded not guilty and the court adjourned till March 1, for a hearing.