The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has impounded 123 vehicles and arrested 19 people during an enforcement operation aimed at clearing traffic bottlenecks around bridges on Lagos Island.
The vehicles were impounded on Tuesday for illegal parking and operating around Ebute-Ero, Idumota, Simpson, Apongbon, and Elegbata bridges after repeated warnings to motorists were ignored.
According to LASTMA’s General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, the exercise was carried out based on directives from the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation to unlock gridlocks caused by indiscriminate parking around the bridges.
The 19 individuals arrested were allegedly impersonating government agents and extorting motorists and roadside traders using fake identity cards.
Bakare-Oki stated that the impounded vehicles’ drivers and the arrested individuals would be prosecuted at the Lagos Mobile Court for contravening the state’s transport laws.
He warned that the enforcement operations would continue to ensure free traffic.
