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Let’s Not Act Like The Govt We Condemn! Reactions To Rufai Oseni’s Conviction For Use Of BRT Lane

Published

August 3, 2022

Let's Not Act Like The Govt We Condemn! Reactions To Rufai Oseni's Conviction For Use Of BRT Lane

Rufai Oseni, an anchor at Arise TV, was found guilty by the court of using the BRT lane while driving and was sentenced to pay the proper punishment.

Gboyega Akosile, the chief press secretary for Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, called the broadcast journalist a lawbreaker and claimed that Rufai had previously confessed to the police his wrongdoing.

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,” he tweeted.

Rufai’s tweet prompted a response from the Lagos State Command’s Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, who claimed that the journalist had broken traffic laws and defied the police.

He did, however, add that if Oseni’s claim turned out to be accurate, the cop who had pointed a gun at him would face consequences.

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.”