VIDEO: Lagos Woman Cries Out After Alleged Assault By Roadside Tout

A Lagos woman has alleged that she was assaulted by a suspected street tout, popularly known as agbero, after he demanded money from her along the Ikate axis of the Lekki-Epe corridor.

The woman recounted the incident in a video shared on Sunday by an X user, Somto Okonkwo, also known as @General Somto.

According to her, she was driving along the road when she approached a group of men who allegedly solicit money from motorists. She said her car window was down when one of the men grabbed the glass and prevented her from winding it up.

“This is how I got back home. When I was coming back, all these guys that beg on the road, my car window was down, so one of them came; the moment he came, before I could wind up, this guy was already holding the glass, that I could not wind up,” she said.

She said the man demanded money from her, adding that she attempted to check her purse for cash but discovered she had none.

She alleged that the situation escalated when she told the man she did not have money.

“When I opened my purse, I saw that I didn’t have cash. That was how this guy hit me on my face,” she said.

The woman also alleged that the man tore her clothes during the confrontation.

Displaying injuries around her eyes, she said the incident occurred around Ikate, shortly before a traffic light.

She said the assault occurred as she attempted to drive away after the traffic light turned green.

The woman called for government intervention, expressing concern that other motorists could be experiencing similar harassment on Lagos roads.

“Governments really need to do something about those guys on the road. Because of the experience that I have with these people today, I can just imagine how many people are being harassed every day on Lagos roads,” she said.

The allegation comes amid recurring complaints by motorists in Lagos about harassment, intimidation and extortion by street touts operating around major roads and traffic corridors.

On August 9, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said the state’s Rapid Response Squad had arrested suspected hoodlums accused of harassing and extorting motorists along the Lekki-Ajah Expressway.

Wahab said on X that the RRS conducted a midnight enforcement operation along the corridor to apprehend individuals allegedly constituting a nuisance and posing a threat to motorists and other road users.

He said the suspects allegedly harassed and intimidated motorists, demanded money from them and, in some cases, damaged vehicles when motorists refused to comply.

Wahab added that the RRS would sustain intelligence-led operations and enforcement actions against criminal elements whose activities threaten public safety and disrupt the movement of people and vehicles across Lagos.