A banker, Mr. Tunde Odebunmi, has petitioned Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, over alleged extortion by suspected illegal tax collectors operating along the Ife–Ibadan Expressway in Egbeda Local Government Area of the state.
In the petition, made available to DAILY POST on Thursday, Odebunmi urged the governor to urgently intervene and stop the activities of the group, which he described as “robbers masquerading as task force officials.”
Narrating his ordeal, Odebunmi said he was accosted on September 9, 2025, while travelling from Lagos to Ibadan in a BMW Jeep. According to him, the incident began after he briefly parked by the roadside for his younger sister to attend to an emergency.
“Before we could finish a conversation with a taxi driver who challenged us, one of the so-called task force members entered the car, took over the steering, and began driving to an unknown destination. He only flashed a faded ID card, which he quickly pocketed,” Odebunmi alleged.
He claimed that the men accused him of “illegal parking” and initially demanded N35,000. His offer to pay directly into Egbeda Local Government’s official account at a UBA branch was rejected. Instead, he said, the sum was later reduced to N20,000 and he was forced to transfer it into the account of a woman operating a Point-of-Sale (POS) machine identified as Happiness Anyanwu.
“I also suffered an extra N400 POS charge. While I was there, another man was made to transfer N80,000 to the same woman, and a Toyota Corolla conveying a husband and wife was also brought in,” he wrote.
Odebunmi called on Governor Makinde to urgently investigate the alleged collaboration between Egbeda Local Government officials and a private firm, Hydee Omo Oba Nigeria Enterprises, insisting their operations amounted to extortion.
“The good people of Nigeria should help us locate these people and call them to order. I am also using this opportunity to call on my very industrious Governor to do something about these robbers called task force,” he appealed.
As of press time, neither the Oyo State Government nor Egbeda Local Government authorities had responded to the allegations.
