File photo: LASTMA officials
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has arrested eight of
its officials for collecting bribe from motorists and other corrupt
practices, Sunday Punch reports.
The officials, who are attached to the Agege-Pen Cinema Office of
the Agency, were arrested last week. They are Adebeshin Adeola, Davies
Idowu, Folashade Abolade, Shittu Lanre, Akinkotu Olusoga, Olowu Said,
Olaoye Peter and Adebola Said.
The duo of Adeshina and Davies had earlier arrested two Lagos
painted commercial buses with registration numbers FKJ 770 XT and KRD
558 XM driven by one Olatunji Mayowa and Donatus Eze respectively at
Abule Egba area of the State for seat belt violation.
The actions of the drivers were in violations of the Lagos State
Traffic laws, and the buses were subsequently apprehended and taken to
the Agege-Pen Cinema Office of the Agency.
However, the matter took a new twist at the Agege Office when the
apprehending officials in conjunction with the General Duty Officer
demanded for the sum of N7,200 from each of the bus drivers before the
release of the buses.
The drivers, knowing the position of LASTMA on corruption and
having listened to various media programmes where official complaint
numbers were given, alerted the Agency and marked currency were given to
the complainants and collected by the officials in a successful sting
operation organized and coordinated by the Provost Marshal of the
Agency, Mr Femi Ajibosho.
The Provost Marshal arrived when Abolade was about collecting
N7,200 from Donatus Eze, while the collected marked money of N7,200 of
Olatunji Mayowa was found on her after search.
In the same vein and at the same location, the members of the
patrol team of the Agency comprising of Shittu Lanre, Akinkotu Olusoga,
Olowu Said, Olaoye Peter and Adebola Said also arrested a vehicle for
traffic laws violation and asked Abolade to facilitate collection of
bribe on their behalf from the alleged offender before the release of
the vehicle.
All the traffic officials involved in this shameful act have been
released on bail, but are to face the full weight of the Lagos State
Public Service Rules and Regulations.
Speaking on the incident at Oshodi Office of the Agency, LASTMA
General Manager, Mr Olawale Musa said the Agency has set a standard for
itself to become one of the most disciplined, credible and efficient
traffic management institution in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
He said: “LASTMA under my watch will not tolerate any act of
indiscipline and corruption capable of dragging the revered image of the
Agency and that of the State Government to the mud.
“To this end, all the officials involved in the shameful act
will be made to appear before the Personnel Management Board
(Discipline) to defend their action in accordance with the relevant
sections of the Public Service Rules.”
Speaking further, Musa said the action of the officials were
disgraceful and did not represent the training and operational manual of
the Agency, adding that it also did not justify the huge motivation and
investment in them by the Agency to perform excellently on the road.
He said the introduction of culture of civility and respect for
motorists’ rights was part of the bid to curb corruption in the agency,
with more emphasis on reducing rash decisions, extortion of motorists
and rather concentrating on efficient traffic management and control.
However, the LASTMA boss said the new paradigm shift which is now
responsible for sanity, orderliness and seamless traffic on Lagos roads
does not preclude the Agency from sanctioning any motorist who runs foul
of the law when occasion calls for it, in order to improve on the
existing tempo and performance.
It would be recalled that the Agency recently dismissed 20
officials for various corrupt practices and 15 others received letters
of warning for various acts considered inimical to the Agency and
service of the Lagos State Government.
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