Tricycle riders attack LASTMA officer

Some commercial tricycle operators, popularly called Keke NAPEP, in Ikeja area of Lagos State yesterday allegedly attacked an officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), simply identified as Mr. Oyekan.

He was attacked while on duty at Acme Road in Ikeja. Oyekan was later rescued by his colleagues and men of the Nigeria Police Force and taken to a hospital in Agege area of the state for treatment.

He sustained deep injury at the back of his head.

A LASTMA official, who craved anonymity confirmed that one of the attackers was arrested and is currently in police custody.

It would be recalled that last December, a commander of the agency, Mr. Bakare Olatunji, was lynched by an irate mob in the Liverpool, Apapa area of Lagos. Olatunji, who was the LASTMA Zonal Head in Apapa, had led a team of officials to the area in a patrol van to arrest erring motorists.

Tanker drivers, who parked their vehicles on the road fled on sighting the enforcement agents.

In the ensuing melee, a truck ran over an assistant driver (motor boy) while he struggled to escape an arrest. Unfortunately, he died on the spot.

Angered by the boy’s death, his friends regrouped and went on the rampage, killing Olatunji in the process.