Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit, popularly known as the Lagos State Task Force, has denied stopping the driver of a Toyota Tacoma over an inscription on his vehicle or demanding a permit for the marking, insisting the agency was not responsible for the incident and suggesting the motorist may have mistaken officers from a different government agency for its operatives.
The denial followed a video posted on Facebook by Jay Scotch Automobile Ltd, in which the motorist recounted an encounter with officials who allegedly stopped him and demanded a permit for the “TRD 4×4 Sport Tacoma” inscription on his vehicle. In the video, the motorist said the officials argued that the inscription amounted to an advertisement and demanded that he produce a permit. “So, I was driving this Toyota Tacoma with this TRD inscription, TRD 4×4 Sport Tacoma and Lagos Task Force had to stop me and say I should provide, you know, if there is an inscription in your car, you have to provide a permit,” he said. He alleged that the officials threatened to damage his side mirror if he failed to provide the permit. “They were like, I should provide a permit for this one. I used mouth finish them and they were threatening to spoil my side mirror if I don’t provide permit to be using this one,” he said. The motorist explained that the inscription was not added to the vehicle as an advertisement but came with the vehicle when it was purchased in the United States. “Something that came in like this from the abroad or from USA where it was bought from,” he said. Questioning the demand, he added, “So, I don’t know. Why are you asking me for a permit because of this TRD written on this Tacoma?”
However, the Director of Press and Public Affairs of the Lagos State Task Force, Raheem Gbadeyanka, in response to an inquiry about the incident on Saturday, said the agency was not responsible for it. Gbadeyanka explained that residents often mistake officers from different government agencies for Task Force operatives, particularly when they see officers wearing camouflage uniforms. “Unless you understand the ignorance of some people, if care is not taken, an individual too will be ignorant of their ignorance. Many of them don’t really understand or know the difference between one agency of government or the other; once they are accosted by any policeman dressed in camouflage uniform on the street, they ignorantly believe they are Task Force operatives,” he said. He also said the Task Force no longer enforces traffic-related offences following a directive from the Lagos State Commissioner of Police. “Ever since the Commissioner of Police of Lagos discretionally stopped us from engaging in any traffic-related offences, the agency operatives had stopped effecting the arrest of traffic offenders,” he said. Gbadeyanka further said requesting permits for vehicle inscriptions was outside the agency’s mandate. “It is also not part of our mandates to request for permits for inscriptions on vehicles,” he said. He added that Task Force operatives could not stop vehicles for traffic offences under the leadership of the agency’s chairman, CSP Adebayo Akerele. “The agency operatives dare not stop any vehicle for traffic offences under the watchful eyes of disciplinarian CSP Adebayo Akerele, chairman, Lagos State Task Force,” he said.
The incident also touches on Lagos State’s regulation of branded vehicles. The Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency has previously stated that its Mobile Advert Permit applies to branded vehicles operating in the state. In November 2024, LASAA explained that the permit is issued to owners or users of branded vehicles, including those with commercial branding, promotional adverts and full wraps. LASAA launched a digital mobile advert permit in November 2025, featuring QR-powered verification for branded vehicles operating across the state. The agency said the entire application process could be completed electronically through its website, where applicants are required to register and input personal and vehicle details. However, whether a manufacturer-applied inscription such as “TRD 4×4 Sport Tacoma” — a factory designation rather than a commercial advertisement — falls within the scope of LASAA’s mobile advert permit regime remains a question that the incident has brought to the fore. The TRD badge is a trademark of Toyota Racing Development, applied by the manufacturer to denote a performance trim level, not a paid advertisement placed on the vehicle by its owner.
The Task Force’s denial comes amid a series of controversies involving the agency in 2026. In May, the Task Force strongly refuted allegations made in a viral Facebook video by Objectv accusing its operatives of secretly returning to the roads to impound vehicles and extort motorists, pointing out that the publication failed to provide the registration number of the allegedly impounded vehicle or other critical details necessary to establish the authenticity of the allegations. In April, the agency denied deploying officers to arrest motorists around Sheraton Link Bridge and Toyin Street, clarifying that it had halted traffic enforcement activities in line with the directive issued by the Commissioner of Police on April 1, 2026. In January, the Task Force arrested a woman and six others over the illegal sale of “immunity stickers” with inscriptions such as “Fire (Ina),” “Olamoney,” “Sanjay Omo Oga,” “Dman,” “100% 23–24” and “Psalm 72,” which were falsely presented as legitimate authorisations to operate without being accosted by law enforcement agencies.
The pattern of incidents and denials highlights a persistent challenge in Lagos State: the proliferation of enforcement agencies, the confusion among residents about which agency has authority over which offences, and the difficulty of holding errant officers accountable when victims cannot correctly identify the agency involved. The Task Force’s explanation that its operatives wear identifiable uniforms and operate marked vehicles, and that its mandate no longer includes traffic enforcement, provides a basis for the public to distinguish its officers from other agencies. However, for the motorist in the viral video, the encounter has left questions unanswered about who stopped him, on what authority, and whether the threat to damage his vehicle was made by officers acting within any agency’s mandate.
For the Lagos State Government, the incident underscores the need for clearer public communication about the roles and responsibilities of its various enforcement agencies, and for stronger mechanisms to address complaints of harassment by officials, regardless of which agency they belong to. For now, the Task Force has denied involvement, the motorist’s account remains unverified, and the question of whether a factory-fitted inscription requires a permit under LASAA’s regulations remains unresolved. The coming days will determine whether the incident prompts a broader review of how branded vehicles are regulated in Lagos State, or whether it becomes another viral moment that fades without resolution.
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