Police Arrest Killers of LASTMA Commander

Matilda Omonaiye

Police have arrested two suspects in connection with the murder of a top commander of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Bakare Olatunji, by a mob, in Apapa area of the state, in December.

A mob had lynched the late LASTMA commander following the death of a commercial motorcycle rider, while allegedly being chased by LASTMA officials

Commissioner of Police in the state, Fatai Owoseni, disclosed the arrest at a press conference at the command headquarters, Ikeja, on Thursday, where the suspects were paraded before journalists, alongside over eighty suspected illegal immigrants arrested at the Seme border area of the state recently.

The alleged killers of the LASTMA commander, who are also commercial motorcycle riders, were identified as Usman Hammad, 23 and Abubakar Ibrahim 25

Owoseni said they were identified through a video recording of the incident, adding that investigators were able to determine that the pair took part in the actual killing of the victim.

The suspects have, however, denied any involvement in the crime.

Owoseni said the suspected illegal immigrants were arrested by operatives of the police border patrol, as they were disembarking from several boats that conveyed them to the state.

He said police were yet to determine their true identities but have not ruled out the possibility that they are Boko Haram insurgents or foreign jihad fighters fleeing the North-East, following the liberation of Sambisa Forest by the Nigerian army.

Some of the detainees that spoke with Newsmakers said they were citizens of Burkina Faso emigrating to Gabon to seek better standard of living.

Owoseni said police would conduct preliminary screening of the detainees before transferring them to the Nigerian Immigration Service for further investigation.