LASTMA officials, policemen brutalise motorist, sympathiser

 The brutality ascribed to officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority still persists as a man, Chudi Obiefuna, was on Monday brutalised by a combined team of LASTMA officials and riot policemen in the Ijeshatedo area of Lagos.

An unidentified man, who intervened by explaining that Obiefuna did not park on a wrong lane, was sprayed with tear gas and given the beating of his life by the team.

Obiefuna said he visited a friend at 10/12, Sabaath Close, behind Ijesha Bus Stop and parked his car in front of a mosque about 30 metres from the entrance to the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.

He said, “When I was done, I went to my car and wanted to move from the untarred road where I parked. “But I was immediately accosted by the LASTMA officials and some riot policemen. Some of them stood in front of my car while others forcefully entered my car and started manhandling me. They snatched the keys of my car and pushed me out of it.”

Obiefuna was able to identify one of the policemen, Ibidapo Odunaya, by his name tag. He also identified one of the LASTMA officials whose name tag read A. N. Sogbesan. He said, “I made efforts to speak to one of the LASTMA men in a pickup van with registration number BH 182 AGLS but Odunaya in particular manhandled me. He pushed me with the butt of his gun and threatened to shoot me.

“He said if he shoots me, nothing will happen to him. All the while, these men did not tell me what I did wrong.” According to him, at this point, an eyewitness intervened but this infuriated the officials. He said one of the policemen sprayed tear gas on the man while others pounced on him and beat him to a pulp, adding that the eyewitness was later dumped in a van.

Obiefuna said the LASTMA officials later drove his impounded car to their head office at Oshodi.

“While they were trying to snatch my car keys, one of the LASTMA officials opened the glove compartment of my car and took away some of my valuables and documents. I had a digital camera, my chequebook, some cash, printing ink and some textbooks in the car,” he said.

The spokesperson of LASTMA, Mrs. Bola Ajao, could not be reached as her telephone was switched off. The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Jayeoba’s telephone was not available too. But a police source said the PPRO was at a meeting with the new Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko.