Lagos State Traffic Law 2012: Penalties for Neglect of Traffic Directions

Matilda Omonaiye/

Divergent reactions have continued to trail media reports that a Lagos State Mobile Court ordered two traffic offenders to forfeit their vehicles, a Lexus 4WD and Toyota Sienna, to the state government for driving against oncoming traffic.

While some have been applauding the decision as a strong deterrent considering the number of lives that had been lost to such reckless acts, other have described it as it high-handed and also questioned the basis of the decision in law.

Checks by NewsmakersNG has revealed that the decision of the court is in tandem with the stipulations of the law under the Lagos Traffic Law 2012.

The section that deals with ‘Penalties for Neglect of Traffic Directions’, states as follows:

1. Where an officer of the Authority is for the time being engaged in the regulation of traffic on a highway, or where any traffic
   sign being a sign for regulating the movement of traffic or indicating the route to be followed by vehicle has been lawfully placed on or near a highway in accordance with the provisions of this Law, any person driving or propelling any vehicle, who-
   (a) Neglects or refuses to stop the vehicle or to make it proceed or to keep to a particular lane or direction of traffic when directed to do so by the officer in the execution of his duty; or
   (b) Drives his vehicle against oncoming traffic or fails to conform to the direction or indication given by the traffic sign, shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on conviction for:
   (i) 1st offender one (1) year imprisonment and forfeiture of the vehicle to the State;
   (ii) 2nd and subsequent offender three (3) years imprisonment and forfeiture of the vehicle to the State.
   (c) All offenders shall have their data and biometrics captured.

The two offenders were arrested by men of the police Rapid Response Squad (RRS) on Opebi road in Ikeja on Tuesday and charged to court yesterday.