General Manager lists powers of LASTMA operatives
The General Manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Bolaji Oreagba, says the authority’s major function is to control traffic, but its duties also include enforcement of the traffic laws.
The General Manager of LASTMA stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Wednesday.
Oreagba was reacting to allegations of excesses by some of its officials in carrying out their duties on Lagos roads.
The General Manager said that in doing its job, its men were not mandated to arrest violators of traffic laws but to “apprehend” their vehicles. He said: “We don’t arrest, we apprehend vehicles of violators of the traffic laws.
“The only occasion where we arrest people has to do with when anyone assaults our officers, and it will not be immediate arrest at that particular time.
“There must be video evidence to show that the officer is truly assaulted, and arrest is later by the police.
“One of the commercial drivers on the 20th of March defecated on his hand but was not arrested at the moment, but his vehicle was apprehended immediately.
“The offender was later arrested on 4th of July while he was immediately taken to the court for prosecution.
“So, we don’t arrest offenders.”
Oreagba said that if an officer apprehended a vehicle, the owner would like to come to LASTMA office to claim the vehicle.
The LASTMA boss said that the authority had the legal authority to dispossess the offender of the vehicle, to move it to its yard or tow the vehicle to avoid traffic on the highway.
He said that the Lagos State Government had installed a technology that would capture traffic infringement to enhance LASTMA’s operations.
Oreagba said that the authority had stationed cameras, body cameras and Traffic Management Devices at traffic points.
“The Traffic Management Device does recording and goes directly to the control room immediately it finishes recording,” he said.
Oreagba said that the device had the ability to scan number plates, and if there was an unsettled violation, the device would …