Technext’s investigation has revealed that the e-hailing drivers claimed to have been arrested for opposing Moove’s price increase were duly prosecuted for a threat to life and property.

This is contrary to an allegation by the Lagos State council of the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON) that the e-mobility company unlawfully arrested and detained the drivers for opposing the company’s price announcement.

This was disclosed in a petition by the state council chairman, Comrade Jaiyesimi Azeez.

The union claimed that the drivers, Moses Ameh and Byang Zakka, were arrested by officers of the Bar Beach police station at the behest of Moove officials. It also claimed that they were tortured and forced to sign a prepared statement before being transferred to the Ikoyi correctional centre for a month.

“The two drivers were unlawfully arrested and detained at Bar Beach Police Station, without being informed of their alleged offences. This arrest was carried out through the collaboration of Moove Africa officials and certain Legion officers, without any valid warrant, court order, or formal charges. During detention, the police at Bar Beach Station dictated the statements to be written by the victims under duress, an act that further underscores the illegality and abuse of authority surrounding this incident,” the chairman’s petition reads.

This was later confirmed by one of the drivers.

Acting on a formal response from a Moove rep, this journalist interrogated the drivers with the new findings. In response, the driver, Byang Zakkar, admitted that he had made suggestive utterances on the drivers’ WhatsApp group:

“They arrested us because of the threat we made,” he told this reporter. “We really said those bad words, but we did not mean it. Somebody posted online saying Moove increased their remittance by 100 per cent because they want to collect our cars and give them to new drivers when we don’t meet up. So I said, ‘No, Moove cannot do that. If they do that, we will march down to Ojota and burn down their Ojota car park. That’s what I said,” he narrated.

Yet, he maintained that the arrest was made by officers of the Nigeria Legion, alongside Police officers, whom the company have always conscripted for security. He could identify them because he had seen them on visits to Moove’s facility.

Zakkar claimed that the officers initially pretended to want to repossess his car. “They said it was because of my vehicle, and that gave me the confidence to follow them because I have not committed any crime with my vehicle. When I got to the police station, I handed my vehicle over to the police for safety,” he stated.

He added that he apologised to the company for his utterances in accordance with an advice order for resolution. Consequently, both drivers have been released from the Ikoyi correctional centre after 3 weeks in custody.

The drivers added that the vehicle hasn’t been returned to him despite his apology. “We really want to settle; we didn’t mean what we said. We were just against the money that they increased, and that’s all. We have spoken with the GM. We told him we called to plead that we are really sorry and we didn’t mean what we said. The problem now is that they haven’t withdrawn the case or given us back our vehicle,” he explained.

See also: Moove drivers protest 100% increase in weekly remittance, shut down operations

Moove accused of exploitative practices

A month ago, drivers operating under Moove’s vehicle financing arrangement on the Uber platform shut down operations in protest against an increase in weekly remittance by the company for financing their Suzuki S-presso vehicles.



According to the drivers who spoke with Technext, Moove increased the weekly remittance from 56,400 naira to 112,200 naira. They also decried the fact that of the 120,200 naira new weekly remittance, only 39,766 naira covers the loan repayment, a mere 33 per cent.

According to the drivers, the 100 per cent increase was unacceptable and demanded a reversal.

According to a breakdown seen by Technext, aside from the 39,766 naira for loan cost, they pay 9,966 naira weekly for maintenance, 16,343 naira for repairs, 2,885 naira for insurance, 505 naira for personal insurance and a handling cost of 42,735 naira.

In light of this, the AUATON chairperson is accusing the company of unethical and exploitative practices. They include the deliberate inflation of daily remittance figures to extort drivers and recycling multiple drivers on one vehicle to maximise profit.

“Promising drivers brand-new vehicles from CFAO Motors upon contract signing, but delivering used or accident-repaired vehicles from their Ojota workshop instead. Failure to properly record drivers’ loan repayment books, falsely declaring them in default, and forcefully repossessing vehicles,” he said.



He also accused the company of refusing to enrol drivers on full health insurance coverage despite deducting such charges. He noted that many drivers who fell ill were left without support, and their vehicles were repossessed when they could not meet remittance obligations during recovery.

These actions, according to Comrade Azeez, reveal systemic corruption, exploitation, and deliberate fraud against innocent drivers.

This is an updated version of a story published based on the accusation against Moove as detailed in a petitioned written by AUATON to the Department of State Security (DSS) and seen by Technext. This update follows an official response by representatives of Moove and an update from the affected drivers.