Retired CSP Alleges Assault, Humiliation by Police Inspector Over Driving Commercial Bus

A retired Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Isiagu Joseph, has accused a serving police inspector attached to a Lagos State Task Force team of assault, unlawful arrest, and repeated public humiliation over his decision to operate a commercial minibus, popularly known as korope, to support his family after retirement.

Joseph, who retired from the Nigeria Police Force on December 1, 2023, said his ordeal began while loading passengers at a bus stop near the Alausa Secretariat in Ikeja.

According to him, a police inspector confronted him, mocked his status, and questioned his dignity for driving a commercial vehicle.

The retired officer said the inspector openly ridiculed him, shouting that it was an “insult to the police force” for a former CSP to be driving a korope, and described him as “useless” despite confirming his identity with an official police ID card.

Joseph explained that his retirement, alongside others, is currently being challenged in court due to disputes over enlistment dates. He said that despite the unresolved legal process, affected officers were dismissed in August 2024 following a summons by the Inspector-General of Police.

To survive financially, Joseph said he purchased a minibus for commercial use, noting that his monthly pension as a CSP is below ₦40,000 and insufficient to cater for his family of six.

He alleged that the harassment escalated on subsequent occasions, with task force officials repeatedly targeting him at the same location.

On one occasion, he said the inspector ordered the removal of his vehicle’s plate number, referring to him again as a “worthless CSP.” The situation was reportedly defused only after an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) intervened and ordered the plate number returned.

According to Joseph, the incident culminated on January 8, 2026, when the inspector allegedly led a group of policemen and civilians who blocked him with multiple korope buses. He claimed he was dragged out of his vehicle, beaten by about ten men, and forcefully taken along with his vehicle to the task force office at the Alausa Secretariat.

He said his vehicle, a minibus with registration number SMK 424 YL, was driven away by a civilian identified as Kabiru. Joseph stated that he was detained at the task force office from about 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., during which the inspector allegedly continued to insult and ridicule him for driving a commercial bus.

Joseph further alleged that although his vehicle was eventually released, the inspector warned him to stop driving korope or risk further harassment, claiming that no one would be able to intervene on his behalf.
Deeply shaken by the incident, Joseph said he parked the vehicle permanently, describing the experience as dehumanizing. “Being beaten by an inspector feels like being beaten by my grandchildren,” he said, noting that he last held the rank of inspector over two decades ago.

On January 9, 2026, Joseph said he reported the incident at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja. However, he was allegedly told that little could be done because he could not fully identify the inspector, despite providing a first name, Sylvester, and linking him to the Lekki Task Force team.

He also said he reported the matter to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Administration) and the X-Squad, who promised to investigate, but he has yet to receive any feedback.

Joseph questioned whether driving a commercial bus is now an offense for retired senior officers and lamented what he described as a decline in discipline within the police force.

“I want to know my crime,” he said. “If driving korope is an offense for a retired CSP, then I will pack up and go back to the village to die.”

As of the time of filing this report, the Lagos State Police Command had not issued an official response to the allegations.