Femi Ashekun/
Residents have expressed concern over the recent activities of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), which is similar to a revenue generation outfit.
LASTMA was established on July 15, 2000, with a clearly defined mandate to transform the state transportation system, to ensure free flow of traffic in the state and also reduce road accidents. But going by the recent actions of its operatives, residents believe the agency has abandoned its original mandate.
Two private vehicle owners, who shared their recent experiences with NewsmakersNG, claimed that the LASTMA officials that accosted them at different locations emphatically stated that they have now been given a revenue target by the state government.
One of them, a businesswoman, who identified herself simply as Temitayo, said she was accosted along Ifako Road, Agege, yesterday morning while her driver was trying to turn off the highway into a business premises.
According to her, it became necessary for her driver to wait for a moment on the main road before turning because another vehicle was trying to exit the same premises.
It was at this moment that LASTMA officials, who appeared to have laid an ambush, swooped on them and accused her driver of obstructing the smooth flow of traffic.
Despite explaining to them that her driver was not at fault and the fact the vehicle’s turn indicator clearly showed that her they were waiting to turn off the road, she said the officials insisted on booking her.
Her vehicle was subsequently impounded and taken to the LASTMA field office in the area, where she was issued a N20,000 fine and asked to go and make payment at LASTMA’s head office in Oshodi.
She however disclosed that during her initial altercation with the officials in an attempt to establish her driver’s innocence, one of them had said they should not be blamed for their actions, rather, the state government that gave them a revenue target.
She also disclosed her suspicion of fraud in the revenue collection process, claiming that she was forced to pay into a private account at the LASTMA’s head office, despite her insistence on paying into a state government’s account at a bank or by online transfer.
She also claimed the officials extorted her of additional N5,000 in cash before she was issued a receipt.
Back at the agency’s office in Ifako, she was extorted of another N4,500 under various guises before she could reclaim her car. She identified the leader of the team that accosted her as Oluwo.
Asked why she did not stand her ground knowing that she had not committed any offence, she said the LASTMA officials made it clear they were both the accuser and the judge in the matter, thus, leaving her with no option.
She therefore appealed to the state government to create an avenue through which road users who are dissatisfied with the encounter with traffic enforcement agents and other government agencies could file a formal complaint and seek for a review of the incident.
Another victim, who identified himself as Olufemi, shared a similar experience after he was accosted by LASTMA officials at the burnt BRT Park at Berger, around 9.30am, on May 13, when his car, a Toyota Camry, suddenly developed a fault on the road.
“I heard a strange, cracking sound around the front wheel and the engine area and I pulled off the road to inspect the vehicle. I had not even parked the car; I was clearing off the main road to ensure I was safe when the men of LASTMA with a couple of hoodlums, blocked my vehicle,” he told NewsmakersNG.
He said he was particularly pained because the officials saw him frantically trying to park the car off the road and had expected they would offer to help, rather, they impounded his car and fined him N20,000.
He too claimed to have paid the fine to a tout working with the LASTMA officials, whose name he found out to be Tope, in addition to sundry amounts totalling N5,000.
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