A rampaging mob incensed at the alleged involvement of LASTMA officials in the tragic death of a bus conductor in Lagos invaded the LASTMA zone 30 Cele-Ijesha office and unleashed mayhem and destroyed impounded vehicles and other valuables.
The conductor, Ikechukwu Abarisim, had allegedly been pulled off his moving vehicle by a policeman, who intended to arrest him, onto the Oshodi-Apapa expressway at Cele Junction and then crushed to death by another vehicle on Monday.
Another policeman, or LASTMA man according to some reports, who was said to be driving another vehicle reportedly crushed Abarisim’s head after he fell to the ground.
Expectedly, an angry mob immediately mobilized and headed for the office of LASTMA on the Cele end of the expressway, vandalising property, until a police team later restored order.
But a LASTMA statement on Wednesday by spokesperson Mr. Mamud Hassan, said the deceased was said to have been killed by the policemen attached to the agency.
(It was stated that four police officials had been detained at the Itire Police Station in connection with the incident.)
“Some policemen attached to the agency were trying to arrest a commercial bus who contravened the Lagos Traffic Law. At the time of the incident, no LASTMA official was involved in the attempted arrest, neither was an official of the agency at the scene or vicinity of the incident that claimed the victim’s life.
“However, immediately after the death of the victim, sympathisers and hoodlums invaded the LASTMA zone 30 Cele-Ijesha office, where they unleashed mayhem, destroyed impounded vehicles and other valuables”, the statement said.
Commiserating with the deceased’s family, LASTMA General Manager Babatunde Edu, promised that the culprits would be brought to book and enjoined members of the public to always report erring officers of the agency to the appropriate authorities for necessary sanction and that LASTMA has “zero tolerance” for any act of indiscipline
“I commiserate with the relatives of the deceased and assure them of the support of the agency in unravelling the truth surrounding the death of their bread winner. The policemen who were allegedly involved in the matter have been handed over to the police at the Itire Police Station for further investigation into the matter,” he said.
The Lagos State police spokesperson, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said some LASTMA officials were being interrogated, adding that the Force would speak on the incident after investigation.
He said, “Investigation into the matter is ongoing. Men from both agencies are being held and interrogated in connection with the incident. We will speak after investigation.”