A200-Level student of Lagos State University, Arazeem Rodiat, has narrated how she and other students were allegedly arrested in a predawn raid by officials of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), detained for about 12 hours in court cells, and forced to pay between N50,000 and N200,000 over waste disposal debts they insist they knew nothing about.
Speaking to SaharaReporters, Rodiat, a student of the Department of Industrial Relations and Human Resources Management, Faculty of Management Sciences, described the incident as traumatic and degrading, accusing authorities of targeting helpless students while landlords and agents allegedly escaped accountability.
According to her, the ordeal began around 5 a.m. when uniformed officials stormed their residence in the Oral Estate area of Lagos and violently banged on their doors.
“They came into our compound, opened the gates from outside and walked into our compound and started banging doors from room to room very hard,” she said.
“Only for me to step out of my room and see that it was some LAWMA people in uniform.”
Rodiat said she initially believed the incident was similar to a previous operation months earlier when officials allegedly came to lock the compound over sanitation-related issues.
“The only thing they always carried us along in that house is when it comes to money. Every other thing, we are never aware,” she said.
“We don’t see bills; we don’t see notifications.”
According to her, after being ordered to dress up and come outside, she packed a few items for school because she thought the compound might simply be sealed again.
However, she said the situation escalated when she saw a large white coaster bus parked outside.
“When I stepped outside of my compound, I realised that there was this big white coaster bus parked in front of my compound, and there was a man there dragging me to enter the bus,” she recounted.
“I asked why should I enter the bus? They said they were taking us to court because the house has been sued, therefore I have to follow them to court.”
She said several residents, including the person who usually collected money from tenants, escaped before officials could apprehend them.
“But when we entered the bus and I looked around, I realised it was just me, my neighbour and one man were in the bus,” she said.
“Every other person just found their way to escape.”
Rodiat said she repeatedly protested during the journey, insisting students should not be punished for issues involving landlords or agents.
“We are just students. We have nothing to contribute to this situation,” she said.
“That if they want to take people, the people they were supposed to take are the ones they left behind.”
The officials, she said, later moved to another building where additional students were allegedly arrested and forced into the same bus.
“They brought another two students to join us, making four students, three female, one male,” she said.
According to her, one of the students contacted people connected to the Lagos State University Students’ Union, hoping urgent intervention would follow.
“The feedback they gave the girl was ‘don’t worry, we are already working on it,’” she said.
However, she claimed no immediate help came.
Rodiat said they were eventually transported to Badagry and charged before a court she identified as the Olu Shola Thomas Courthouse.
“When it was our time to come down, they asked us to come down and we were led to enter one small room like that,” Rodiat said.
“I was like ‘why do we have to enter this room? Do you guys want to detain us?’”
Rodiat alleged that when she questioned the action, a male police officer violently dragged her into the room.
“One officer said I should not question them,” she recalled.
“I was trying to talk with him and the next thing I saw was a male police officer in uniform dragging a girl (me).”
“He dragged me to the extent that I almost hit my head on the wall.”
She said the incident frightened the other female detainees into complying immediately.
“Immediately every other lady saw what happened and I was forced into that room, they just had to comply and follow also,” she added.
According to her, the students remained locked inside until court proceedings began.
She said the court accused them of living in a property allegedly indebted to LAWMA and ignoring multiple summonses.
“They asked, are we aware of the fact that the house we are staying in owes LAWMA money?” she said. “I said I was not aware.”
Rodiat maintained that tenants always paid whatever money they were asked to contribute for sanitation.
“Whenever they ask us to pay, I’m always paying,” she said. “But I’m not aware that we are owing LAWMA.”
She said all the accused persons pleaded not guilty.
“Every other person in that room also pleaded not guilty,” she said.
However, despite the pleas, the judge allegedly imposed heavy bail conditions.
“Despite the fact we pleaded not guilty, the judge asked us to pay a sum of N100,000 to bail ourselves,” she said.
She further alleged that because she resisted being forced into the detention room earlier, an additional N100,000 was imposed on her.
“The police officer asked to charge me another extra N100,000,” she stated. “So only me had to pay a total sum of N200,000 if I wanted to be released.”
Rodiat expressed outrage that the judge watched a video showing the officer dragging her but took no action.
“This same video was sent to the judge, and the judge could see that a male officer was dragging a female and he saw nothing wrong with that,” she said.
“Is this something that should be adopted in this country?”
Following the court session, she said they were returned to the cell and threatened with transfer to Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison if they failed to raise bail money quickly.
“Those people in there came back to us and said, you guys have to start sorting out for money because if you do not sort out for money, if the Black Maria came, they would take us to Kirikiri prison,” she recounted.
“I was like, why are we being taken to Kirikiri? We are not criminals.”
Rodiat said she became terrified and began calling relatives, classmates and school officials for help.
“I called my mom, that I have been detained in the court, and they are asking us to pay N200,000,” she said.
She also accused officials of the students’ union of abandoning them despite allegedly being informed early about the arrests.
“The response he gave me was that I should have informed them before they took us away, that which comrade will follow them to Badagry to come and rescue us,” she said, referring to a faculty welfare officer.
“I was like, seriously? So, the distance has become a problem?”
She claimed no meaningful intervention occurred until late afternoon when two individuals allegedly linked to the union arrived.
“One of them said his position is PCA,” she recalled. “When he came around and he saw us, he asked us what we were asked to do. “He said ‘you guys should pay.’”
Rodiat said the most devastating moment came when male detainees, including a LASU student, were allegedly loaded into a Black Maria vehicle and transported to prison because bail arrangements were delayed.
“The next thing that happened, which even amazed me the most is, when they start taking the males, they start arranging them inside the Black Maria to take them to prison, including the male student from Lagos State University,” she said.
“He slept in prison yesterday overnight.”
According to her, families eventually paid varying amounts to secure the students’ release.
“One of the ladies who was with me, her family paid a sum of N120,000,” she said. “My neighbour paid the sum of N70,000.”
“But I was the only person that even paid last. I was the only person who paid N50,000 simply because I paid last.”
Rodiat said the students spent nearly 12 hours in detention without food or water.
“We were taken out of our hostels around after 5 am and we got home around 9 pm,” she said.
“Not even water was offered to us.”
She questioned what might have happened if any of the detainees had serious health conditions.
“What if I was a sickle cell patient or an ulcer patient? Is this how they would really treat me?” she asked. “Nobody would care about it.”
Angered by the experience, the student condemned what she described as systemic indifference by institutions meant to protect young Nigerians.
“This country is just messed up,” she said. “And we all keep showing the attitude of it doesn’t concern me.”
“Until this thing happens to someone we know, or it happens to us, that is when we will know exactly how bad it is.”
