The
Lagos State Government on Tuesday urged security personnel to comply with the
State Traffic Law and desist from plying Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor along
the Ikorodu Road axis.
General
Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Bashir
Braimah spoke on the backdrop of a joint enforcement against BRT violation with
the military police and the Nigerian police carried out on Monday.
He
lamented the rate at which military personnel flout BRT law with impunity,
noting that the 15 vehicles found plying the BRT corridors during the exercise were
either driven by the military or with military paraphernalia hanging in the
vehicles.
Amongst
the vehicles found plying the BRT corridor was a silver Toyota Matrix 103 AT
fully loaded with top military personnel.
Also
accosted include was a bus belonging to the Nigeria Army college of Nursing
with registration number NA 830 BOA, a army green Peugeot with registration
number NA 284 B0/1, silver Nissan KTU 820 AY, Silver colour Toyota Camry KJA
233 TB, green Hilux truck DHQ 232, Navy colour Volkswagen bust with
registration number MUS 693 CY driven by a fully kitted Naval officer. Others
are APP 115 BY and KTU 239 AH, amongst others.
He
wondered why military personnel who should be the custodian of the Traffic Law were
instead working against it.
He
added that law is no respecter of nobody and the road traffic law must be
obeyed in other ensure the safety of lives and property.
He
said some personnel of the Nigerian military threw caution and decency into the
wind when they descended heavily on a LASTMA official Peter Owolabi, for daring
to take the photographs of their black Honda Accord car with number
registration CP 839 YAB which violated the BRT corridor at Obanikoro bus stop
at Ikorodu road.
The
unruly attitude of the personnel attracted the attention of members of the
public, who jeered and admonished them to respect civil authority.
“The
officers were stopped during a routine exercise to prohibit the illegal use of
BRT bus corridor by other motorists. The violators were presented with fine
ticket in accordance with the new approach of the agency of booking offenders
on the spot and allow continuing with journey without their vehicle being
impounded”.
“However,
unlike their civilian counterparts, the Military officers refused to collect
the tickets and rather opted to obstruct movement of other vehicles from
exiting the corridor and in the process caused pandemonium and created ugly
scenes unbefitting of a modern army”, Braimah said.
The
LASTMA boss said the personnel physically attacked passersby who dared to
record the incident and in the process, manhandled the LASTMA cameraman and damaged
his camera.
“It’s worthy to note that LASTMA officials are
only empowered by the law to ensure orderliness, sanity and safety to Lagos
roads”.
“The
attack was a clear case of what LASTMA personnel usually go through in the
hands of some uniform personnel at a time that the state government is making
effort to restore orderliness on state roads. It has become a habit for some of
the military personnel driving commercial buses in uniform to flout the state
traffic law and collaborate or encourage commercial drivers to violate traffic
law on Lagos roads”, Braimah said.