Bus Conductor strips self naked, stabs LASTMA Official

A conductor of a commercial bus identified
simply as Ibrahim has been arraigned in a Lagos
court for allegedly stabbing an official of the
Lagos State Traffic Management Authority,
Akingbohungbe Olalekan, in the hand.
The driver of a Volkswagen wagon with number
plate LAGOS XB 990 AAA, on Wednesday around
3.10pm was obstructing the free flow of traffic
by picking and allowing passengers to alight
from his bus at an unauthorized place in Ojota
area of the state. He was apprehended by
Olalekan and another LASTMA official, Alabi
Emmanuel, who attempted to impound his
vehicle. Olalekan ended up getting stabbed.
whisperNaija.com learnt that Ibrahim and the
driver descended on the officials, beat them up
and tore their uniforms.It was learnt that
Ibrahim later stripped himself naked and stood in
front of the bus. Our correspondent gathered
that a team of policemen and traffic enforcement
agents later arrived at the scene.
But the driver reportedly fled while the 28-year-
old conductor was arrested and arraigned at a
special offences tribunal in Alausa on
Wednesday.
At the tribunal, Ibrahim was charged with breach
of public peace, obstructing state officers from
carrying out their lawful duty, assault and traffic
violation by picking passengers in places that
were not bus stops.
When his plea was taken, he pleaded not guilty
to all the charges.
Magistrate Yetunde Phinero admitted the
accused to bail in the sum of N50,000 and two
sureties in the like sum. She adjourned the case
till June 21, 2012. But the accused was
remanded as he could not meet the bail
condition.
Meanwhile, the General Manager of LASTMA, Mr.
Babatunde Edu, on Friday warned that the
agency would prosecute traffic offenders,
especially the violent ones.
Edu , who said prosecuting traffic offenders
would serve as a deterrent to errant motorists,
said the warning became imperative in view of
the rising cases of attacks on LASTMA officials
in recent times.
He said, "LASTMA officials have been trained to
be civil in their approach and we do not tolerate
act of indiscipline among our officials. But a
situation where they are attacked while
performing their official duties by errant drivers
would no longer be condoned.
"The law is no respecter of anybody and it is
necessary that motorists obey traffic rules and
regulations to ensure sanity on our roads.
"Rather than take the laws into their hands, we
implore motorists to report errant LASTMA
officials and we assure them that we will carry
out a thorough investigation and act
accordingly. We do not condone any act of
indiscipline among our officials and we do not
cover them up if they erred."