LASTMA CRACKDOWN ON ONE-WAY DRIVING, ILLEGAL GARAGES: 84 VEHICLES IMPOUNDED IN IDUMOTA, IDDO, IJORA-OLOPA, COSTAIN, ONIPANU, OFFICERS ATTACKED, INJURED AS MISCREANTS RESIST ENFORCEMENT
By Olayiwola Ibrahim // The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has intensified enforcement operations across traffic flashpoints in the State, impounding 84 commercial and private vehicles for various traffic violations during a comprehensive weekend operation at Idumota, Iddo, Ijora-Olopa, Costain and Onipanu.
The exercise was aimed at restoring sanity, orderliness and strict compliance with traffic regulations, particularly along corridors where persistent violations by recalcitrant motorists and commercial bus operators continue to threaten road safety and free flow of traffic.
Of grave concern to the Agency is the increasingly dangerous practice of commercial buses reversing against traffic along the one-way stretch from Iddo back to Idumota through Cater Bridge – an irresponsible manoeuvre capable of catching unsuspecting motorists, commuters and pedestrians unawares.
Motorists and other legitimate road users approaching the bridge may have little or no forewarning that a commercial vehicle is reversing against the prescribed direction of traffic, thereby creating an extremely hazardous situation with the potential to cause devastating collisions, injuries and fatalities, the Agency stated.
The operation encountered resistance from some recalcitrant individuals, during which LASTMA personnel were physically assaulted and injured while discharging their statutory duties.
Some notorious miscreants and hoodlums who attacked and damaged the Agency’s operational vehicles during the exercise were apprehended.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, described the enforcement as a necessary and long-overdue intervention to curb the growing culture of impunity among certain road users and restore discipline along critical corridors.
Bakare-Oki reiterated that the Agency had repeatedly warned transport operators, commercial bus drivers and other road users against converting under-bridge spaces, road setbacks and other unauthorised locations to illegal garages, stressing that such practices impede effective traffic management and pose serious risks to public safety.
He emphasized that the sustained enforcement campaign is aimed at ensuring compliance with extant traffic laws, deterring dangerous driving and safeguarding lives and property, adding that no individual or group will be allowed to appropriate public roads, bridges or under-bridge spaces for illegal loading, parking, repairs or garage operations.
LASTMA therefore admonished commercial bus operators, motorists, transport unions and other stakeholders to immediately desist from one-way driving, dangerous reversing, illegal parking, indiscriminate loading and occupation of unauthorised garages or under-bridge locations, warning that further infractions will attract appropriate sanctions in accordance with Lagos State traffic laws.
Members of the public are urged to remain vigilant and promptly report dangerous driving, traffic obstructions and other infractions through the LASTMA Toll-Free Short Code 3367 for swift response.
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