A commercial bus driver identified as Ibrahim Yusuf has been arrested by the police for allegedly brutalizing an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, “LASTMA”, around the River Valley Estate area of Lagos State.
The victim has been identified as Victor Awotala.
According to the reports, Yusuf was obstructing movements of vehicles along, when Awotola, alongside other officers of the agency, attempted to seize his vehicle. Yusuf reached out for a knife and stabbed the officer in the head and neck.
The suspect, after perpetrating the act, abandoned his vehicle and fled the scene.
In a statement given by the spokesperson for the agency, Olamide Filade, on Wednesday, the LASTMA General Manager, Bolaji Oreagba, condemned the attack.
The statement read in part;
“The General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Bolaji Oreagba, has said henceforth, the Lagos State Government will no longer tolerate any act of assault, physical attack, or attempted murder on any official working for the government, especially LASTMA officers.
“The perpetrators of such misdemeanors will be made to face the full wrath of the law by the state government. Oreagba said this in the light of attempted murder by a Zuzuki commercial minibus driver (korope) with number plate KJA 953 YE, Ibrahim Yusuf, on a dutiful LASTMA officer, Victor Awotola, operating at the Ojodu-Berger-Ogba axis.
“Awotola attempted, along with the patrol team, to apprehend Yusuf, who was causing obstruction around 3.30pm on Saturday, February 12, 2022. The general manager noted that assault on government officials while carrying out their lawful duties is becoming too rampant and the government is ready to put a stop to this through diligent prosecution of such person(s) no matter how highly placed in the society.”
The statement revealed that the chairman of a transport union in the community produced the suspect at the Ojodu Police Station, where he was detained.
Kehinde Akerele, the Legal Director of LASTMA, noted that Yusuf would be charged to court, he also added that the state government would diligently prosecute the case to serve as a deterrent to others.
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