18 LASTMA officers killed, 24 incapacitated in 2018, Governor Ambode laments

Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has disclosed that 18 Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officers died on duty in 2018 while 24 officers are incapacitated in various hospitals due to injuries sustained while on official assignment.

The governor revealed this when he paid a condolence visit to LASTMA Oshodi office to commiserate with the LASTMA officer, Rotimi Adeyemo, who was recently shot dead by a police officer. Ambode disclosed that Adeyemo’s family would be rewarded with N10 million while he warned that the state government would no longer tolerate traffic offenders.

According to the governor, to ensure that traffic offenders do not go scot-free, the state mobile courts would be increased from five to 20 with immediate effect.

The governor assured traffic officers of the state’s protection while carrying out their duty. He added that the various security agencies have been implored to work with paramilitary agencies in the state to ensure that they are safe on duty.He further promised Lagos residents a crime-free holiday, as the state government has put in place appropriate security measures to make the year-end celebrations hitch-free.

“Last week, we lost a LASTMA official, Rotimi Adeyemo, who met his untimely death at the hands of a reckless motorist. I have come on behalf of the government to commiserate with all LASTMA officers.

“As at today, we have lost 18 LASTMA officers in the line of duty, just because they were performing their duty. I have 24 LASTMA officers that are permanently incapacitated in various hospitals this year alone.

“We have not been churning out this data, just because we believe Lagosians will understand that these men and women we put on the line of duty are harmless and have nothing to protect themselves, except the traffic laws they tend to protect and regulate.

“This is a sober moment for us, but again, I need to encourage and further appeal to all other law enforcement officers, that the state government is with them and would do everything to protect their lives and create a conducive atmosphere for them to work.

“Government will not continue to fold its arms and allow traffic officers to be in danger. First, I appeal to all of you, that we must obey traffic laws; secondly, we cannot turn the state into a state of lawlessness.“So, from this moment onwards, all our security agencies and all officers concerned to discipline any traffic offender arrested.

Government will deal squarely with any traffic offender henceforth. We cannot allow people to continue to commit offences for which we need to discipline them for,” he said.