Lagos VIO misplaces motorist’s vehicle documents

A US-based language instructor, Henshaw Ita, has accused the officers of the Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Service at the Iba Zonal Office of unlawful seizure of his vehicle documents.

He said the officers had been holding on to the original copies of his vehicle licence, driving licence, MOT certificate, copies of the proof of ownership and purchase of his vehicle since January 7.

The English Language instructor lamented that all efforts to retrieve the documents from the command were futile, adding that he was told the documents were missing.

Ita told our correspondent he was returning in his car from a seminar when some vehicle inspection officers stopped him and requested to see the documents of the car.

He explained that the officers accused him of using a forged insurance cover, which he refuted.

He added that the officers seized other documents and told him to pay a fine of N20,000 into a Wema Bank account.

Ita said, “I was driving home from a seminar when a team of VIOs led by one Folayinka flagged me down and demanded my documents, which I gave them.  They glanced through the papers and claimed that I paraded a forged insurance paper. They certified all other documents as genuine.

“Politely, I said it wasn’t a forged insurance paper and that it was duly issued by the African Alliance Insurance. As of the time the document was seized, I was not aware that the Lagos State Government said it should be automated. I asked the officers to prove their claim, but they said my request was an insult on them.

“Consequently, Folayinka, in a brazen show of authority, seized all my documents, including vehicle licence, driving licence, MOT certificate and copies of the proof of ownership and purchase of the vehicle – most of which were original copies.

“He also detailed his men to remove the front and rear number plates of my car. To cap it all, he imposed a N20,000 penalty on me and frustrated all my efforts at meeting with the superior officers in the office.”

Ita said he eventually met with two VIS commanders sometime in March and explained what transpired to them.

He said the commanders advised him to pay the fine which he reluctantly agreed to.

“On the same day, I left for Wema Bank, made the payment and returned to the VIS, Iba zonal office, for the retrieval of my valued documents, only to be told that they could not be found, except the number plates.

“In an attempt to launder this obvious abuse of public trust and professional ineptitude, a quick reissuance of the MOT certificate and vehicle licence were done and given to me, while I paid, on demand, the sum of N5,000 for a new insurance cover.

“In an apparent nefarious tact at dismissing me from his office, Folayinka asked me to approach the licensing office for the permanent version of my driving licence, a mission he knew was practically impossible without either a copy of the temporary one, which he lost, or a sworn affidavit from the court and an extract from the police. All other documents are still  missing, yet Folayinka has been evasive on calls and messages.”

Ita appealed to the Lagos State Government and the state command of the VIS to prevail on the Iba zonal command to ensure he was not incriminated in the matter.

Reacting to Ita’s allegations, the VIS Zonal Commander, Babatunde Sammy, insisted that the insurance cover was fake.

He, however, admitted that other seized documents got misplaced by Folayinka.

Sammy said apart from the driving licence, the command had processed replacements of the lost particulars and urged Ita to come to the command to collect them.

The commander also promised to process the driving licence soon.

He said, “The insurance cover was forged and he (Ita) was caught. Why did he pay the fine if he claimed it was not forged? The only mistake is that his documents were misplaced for which I apologise. We have replaced those documents. Let him come to collect them and ‘be captured’ to get the driving licence.”