A commercial driver, Olumide Oritsejaro has been arrested and charged to court for brutally beating up an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr Gbejemeje at Jakande Estate, Ejigbo, while carrying out his lawful duty on the road.
According to media reports, the driver, Oritsejaro, was said to be driving against traffic on the road when Gbejemeje, who was on routine monitoring with some of his officers on the road, accosted him.
The driver resisted arrest and the impounding of his vehicle at the LASTMA office, which resulted in an exchange of words and later degenerated into a fight between the driver and the LASTMA officers.
In the process, the driver used a sharp object to stab Gbejemeje in the face. He was said to have bled profusely and was rushed to the hospital for treatment alongside another officer, Beyoku Nurudeen, who the driver also attacked and tore his uniform during the fight.
The alleged assault was reported to the Police at the Ejigbo Division. Oritsejaro was subsequently arrested and detained at the station for interrogation, while his accomplice escaped and is now at large.
After thorough interrogation, the Police found him culpable and then charged him before the Ejigbo Magistrates Court for the alleged offence, wherein he pleaded not guilty.
The prosecutor, SP Benedict Aigbokhan, then asked the Court to give a short adjournment for the hearing since he pleaded not guilty to enable the Police to prove that he actually committed the alleged offence.
The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs K.A. Ariyo, granted him bail in the sum of #100,000 with two sureties in like sum, while the matter was adjourned till February 7, 2023, for a mention, and the defendant was remanded in custody at the Correctional Centre at Kirikiri town, Lagos, pending when he will perfect his bail conditions.
