LASTMA officer stabbed during enforcement operation in Lagos, conductor arrested
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has condemned the stabbing of one of its officers by a commercial bus conductor during a traffic enforcement operation at Ile-Epo Market, inward Abule-Egba, along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
The incident was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by the Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq.
According to the statement, the attack occurred while a LASTMA patrol team was carrying out its traffic management duties and apprehended a Volkswagen commercial bus with registration number LSR 989 XG for allegedly causing serious traffic obstruction along the busy Ile-Epo Market corridor.
The authority said the driver of the vehicle resisted the enforcement exercise, while the conductor, identified as Lekan Olasunkanmi, allegedly armed himself with a screwdriver and stabbed one of the traffic officers during the confrontation.
The injured officer was immediately taken to a nearby medical facility, where he received emergency treatment and is responding positively, the statement added.
LASTMA said the incident was subsequently reported to the Abattoir Police Division, while the suspect was arrested and handed over to the police for further investigation and possible prosecution.
According to the authority, the suspect reportedly admitted during preliminary police interrogation that he brought out the screwdriver and mistakenly stabbed the officer during the altercation.
Reacting to the incident, the General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, described the attack as disturbing and decried what he called the growing hostility and aggression against traffic management personnel in the discharge of their duties.
He warned that the Lagos State Government would not tolerate any form of assault, intimidation or harassment of officers responsible for maintaining order on public roads.
“Anyone found attacking LASTMA personnel in the course of their lawful duties will face the full weight of the law. Our officers are deployed across the state to facilitate seamless movement of people, goods and services, as well as to ensure strict compliance with extant traffic regulations. Any act of violence against them constitutes an affront to public order and the rule of law and will not go unpunished,” Bakare-Oki said.
The LASTMA boss also urged motorists, commercial transport operators and other road users to comply with the provisions of the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law, 2018, stressing that cooperation with traffic management authorities is essential to ensuring safer and more orderly roads.
He further appealed to transport unions and commercial vehicle operators to educate their members on the importance of respecting law enforcement and traffic management officials.
