Eighteen toll collectors of Lekki Concession Company Limited (LCC) suspected to have defrauded the company of huge sums of money have been handed over to the police by the management of the company for investigation.

The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Mubashiru Hassan, made this known during the week in a press statement. He said that the affected staff took advantage of the operational hitch which occurred in January this year at the Operations Department of the company to perpetrate some sharp practices at the Admiralty Circle Toll Plaza.

According to him, following the resolution of the operational hitches early in June, the Operations Department carried out an audit of the period and noticed some anomalies in transactions, such as the abuse of the transaction unblock key, non-adherence to vehicle processing procedures (receipt of monies from customers without processing the vehicles, non-issuance of toll receipts to customers after receiving payments).

Other offences were sabotage of toll equipment, non-adherence to the controls and operating procedures, including the use of personal phones in the booths, processing of vehicles on another person’s profile and recording and accounting for low traffic numbers during peak periods.

Hassan added that consequent upon this discovery, they were queried and a disciplinary committee was constituted. Out of the 56 suspected staff, six were exonerated and 18 were indicted in the first batch and handed over to the police on July 11 for further investigation, while the remaining 32 are still undergoing internal questioning before the next decisive steps would be taken in line with the disciplinary policies of the company.

“LCC management will never tolerate any fraudulent act and will handle any of such behaviour decisively”, Hassan said.

He described the affected staff as unrepentant as “they have not seen what they have done as being criminal. Instead, they have gone on social media to malign the competence and character of the management staff, especially the Managing Director and Managers in the Operations Department who investigated and unravelled the fraudulent acts”

Hassan revealed that their action was borne out of their failed attempts to get out of their fraudulent acts, hence they took to blackmail.

“The company at different fora has warned members of staff to desist from any fraudulent activity in the company, as it will not spare the affected staff no matter how highly placed or connected. This company has taken it as a policy to reward excellence. This is done in order to encourage them to put in their best and remain honest in the discharge of their duties to the company,”he said.