The Lagos State Government on Thursday called for the arrest of fraudsters harassing motorists for not buying wastebaskets from the State. 

Recall Eons Intelligence reported that a video captured men from an unknown agency accosting a man for using a wastebasket he bought from Ekiti in a Lagos State registered vehicle.

In the video, the men, dressed in uniforms claimed they are from the Lagos State Vehicle Waste Basket agency LAVMAB and forced the motorist to buy a wastebasket for N3,500.

Watch the video below:

Responding to the video on Thursday, September 17, the State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tunji Bello said all the characters in the viral video are fraudsters who do not represent the State Government or any of its agencies.

READ MORE: CONFUSION AS UNKNOWN AGENCY LAVMAB ARRESTS MOTORISTS FOR NOT BUYING WASTEBASKET FROM LAGOS STATE

The Commissioner urged motorists to continue to use wastebaskets of their choice in their vehicles, adding that security agents are on the trail of the fraudsters.

Below is the statement from the Lagos State Government:

 The Lagos State Government, on Thursday, disowned the viral video, where some uniformed impostors were promoting the sale of branded wastebaskets purportedly on behalf of the State.

A statement signed by the State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tunji Bello, noted that all the characters in the viral video are fraudsters who do not represent the State Government or any of its agencies.

Bello affirmed that there is no unit or agency under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources that goes by the name “Lagos State Vehicle Waste Basket (LAVWAB) Enforcement/Compliance” as portrayed in the branded vehicle which the fraudsters operated from.

He pointed out that the dubious intent of the criminals in the video could be deduced from the fact that they operated from inside a van within an automobile workshop and were very dodgy about the kind of enforcement exercise they were supposedly carrying out.

The Commissioner said the development had been communicated to security agents to spread their dragnets towards apprehending the criminals and their cohorts, wherever they operated from, and bring them to book.

Bello, therefore, enjoined members of the public to report any incident of anyone claiming to represent the State Government and coercing them to purchase any particular brand of wastebaskets for placement in their vehicles.

The Commissioner also implored owners and operators of buses, trucks and articulated vehicles in the State to continue to use wastebaskets of their choice in their vehicles, as part of efforts to discourage littering and promoting a culture of proper waste disposal.