THE Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has impounded 123 vehicles for illegal parking around bridges on Lagos Island, specifically near Ebute-Ero by Idumota Bridge, Simpson Bridge, Apongbon under Bridge, and Elegbata.
According to media reports, the General Manager of LASTMA, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, confirmed this development in a statement released on Wednesday and was signed by Mr Adebayo Taofiq, the Director of the Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA.
Bakare-Oki stated that this action was part of ongoing enforcement operations aimed at relieving traffic congestion across the State.
This initiative follows directives from the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr Sola Giwa after numerous warnings to private and commercial bus drivers to cease indiscriminate parking and the operation of illegal garages around bridges were ignored.
LASTMA’s General Manager also disclosed that in the process of impounding vehicles parked illegally on Lagos Island, the Agency apprehended 19 hoodlums engaging in unauthorised collection of parking fees from motorists.
He explained that investigations uncovered that the 19 apprehended hoodlums had been masquerading as legitimate Government agents, armed with counterfeit identity cards, to swindle unsuspecting motorists and unauthorised street vendors.
Bakare-Oki announced that the owners/drivers of the 123 impounded vehicles and the 19 detained hoodlums would face legal proceedings in the Lagos State Mobile Court and will be charged with violations of the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018.
