Lagos court goes tough on earring drivers

A Mobile Court sitting in Lagos yesterday, Wednesday, July 24, 2019, sentenced nine drivers to 20-hours 'community service' for driving against traffic, an offense punishable under Part (III), item 27 of the Transport Sector of Lagos State, 2018.

The court also pronounced outright forfeiture of the nine vehicles used in committing the crime to the Lagos State Government.

The presiding Magistrate, Salau Omobola (Mrs), pronouced the verdict after the defendants, who were docked at the instance of the state Task Force on Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences, pleaded guilty to the one-count charge.

Magistrate Omobola gave the particulars of the affected vehicles as an Acura car, with registration number: APP 39 EX; Toyota Hilux, KSF 374 DH; Nissan Small bus, KJA 646 XT); Peugeot 206, APP 437 FN; and five Lagos colour commercial Volkswagen buses, otherwise known as Vanagon, marked JJJ 822 XT;  KTU 169 XJ; KRD 438 XL; EKY 946 FT and KRD 793 XT, respectively

In the same vein, twelve vehicles abandoned by their drivers, while escaping arrest, have been impounded by the Agency, which has also called on the escapists to present themselves for prosecution.

Disclosing this development to Crimepuzzle, Head of Public Affairs Unit of the Agency (PRO), Adebayo Taofik, said in a press release that the enforcement team of the Agency, led by its Chairman, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, impounded 21 vehicles and arrested nine drivers between Cele and Iyana-Isolo bus-stops on the Oshodi-Mile 2 Expressway.

The enforcement team were said to be on a return journey from a demolition exercise embarked upon at Eric Moore and Orile-Iganmu, on the Lagos/Badagry Expressway, when the erring drivers ran into them.

Nine of the drivers were arrested in the process, just as twelve took to their heels, abandoning their vehicles.

The Agency Chairman was, however, quoted to be obsessed by the flagrant flouting of traffic laws by motorists, coupled with series of complaints from irked, law-abiding motorists and residents of the areas on the attendant gridlock that regularly greets the lawless act of the drivers.


"Honestly speaking, it is painful that with high level of enlightenment campaigns and several warnings by the government, motorists, including private car owners, can still be driving against flow of traffic in such a long magnitude, thereby blocking on-coming vehicles to a stand still at Iyana-Isolo", Egbeyemi said.

CSP Egbeyemi however advised other remaining 12 drivers who were at large to immediately report to the Agency