Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit (Taskforce) said it has concluded arrangements to auction a total of 54 vehicles of 31 traffic offenders already convicted by the court for driving against oncoming traffic.
Chairman of the Agency, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi disclosed, in a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday by its spokesperson, Mr Taofiq Adebayo, saying the affected vehicles include 22 automobiles that were abandoned for over six months after their arrest.
According to Egbeyemi, owners of the impounded vehicles who abandoned their cars have contravened the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law 2018, stating that public notice had been issued for owners of vehicles that were forfeited by the court and those that were abandoned to identify their vehicles at the Agency’s car parks in Ikorodu and Bolade-Oshodi.
This was just as he quoted the provision of the law that gave backing to action to be taken by his agency, saying: “At the expiration of the one month verification exercise, the agency shall apply to court for an order of ‘Public Auction’ where members of the public would have opportunity to buy any of these vehicles.”
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Egbeyemi clarified that the owners of the vehicles forfeited to the government had pleaded guilty before Magistrate Omobola Salawu of the Lagos State Mobile Court at Oshodi after their arrest for driving against traffic.
He affirmed that in addition to forfeiture of the vehicles, each of the traffic offenders was sentenced to 100 days “Community Service” at any public institution.
Egbeyemi, however, maintained that with the state government’s zero-tolerance for violation of the law, the agency would continue to prosecute traffic offenders until sanity was restored on Lagos roads and law-abiding citizens were allowed to commute without being impeded by unlawful individuals.
Meanwhile, Task Force Chairman, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi also confirmed that over 7,350 impounded motorcycles popularly called Okada, are currently in custody of the agency for plying restricted routes, including highways and bridges across Lagos State.
He said the agency was awaiting further directives from the government in respect of the impounded motorcycles, disclosing that the motorcyclists were apprehended around Agege, Pen-Cinema, Apapa, Ikorodu, Mile 2, Obalende, Oyingbo, 2nd Rainbow, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Ojota, Maryland, Yaba, Oshodi, Ikorodu Road, Apongbon, Ikeja and Iyana-Ipaja.
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