Residents Decry Enforcement Of Lagos Traffic Law

Residents of Ikorodu in Lagos have appealed to the state government to check the highhandedness of the police in the area in the enforcement of the new state traffic law.

The residents told newsmen  on Saturday in Ikorodu that  some policemen arrested commercial motorcyclists on unrestricted roads in the community, thereby making access to transport difficult.

Alhaja Sherifat Awobajo, a trader, said: “The attitude of the police is unbecoming. They arrested commercial motorcyclists virtually on every road within the town.

“This is unfair. Ikorodu is a highly populated town and most residents rely on commercial motorcycles to move around the town because most roads in the town are bad.

“On several occasions, I have seen police patrol vans arresting commercial motorcyclists operating within Eyita, Erunwen and Olayemi Estate at Oke Ota Ona.

“Are these roads also restricted? The police should desist from inflicting unnecessary hardship on residents. We are suffering.”

A businessman, Mr Tunde Braimoh, said that there was need for the authorities to caution the police against unlawful arrests, describing their action as tyrannical.

“They are overzealous when making these arrests without considering the safety of those on the motorcycles. They should learn to put people’s safety above their selfish interests,” he said.

Another resident, Mr Olusola Adegoke, said that the unlawful arrest of commercial motorcyclists on unrestricted road was illegal.

Adegoke, a lawyer, noted that many Nigerians, including law enforcement officers in the state, were not familiar with the provisions of the traffic law or have actually taken time to study it.