HIT -AND -RUN DRIVER MAULS TRAFFIC OFFICER IN MILE 12, LAGOS
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Late Mr Samson Olawale Akinmade, Traffic Officer, LASTMA
The reckless driver of a blue-black Opel Space Bus with registration number AAA 74 GG has knocked down Traffic Officer, Samson Olawale Akinmade, at Demurin Street junction, inwards Mile 12 while controlling traffic, leaving him with head and body injuries.
A statement by the General Manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, Engr. Olajide Oduyoye revealed that Samson Olawale Akinmade, who was knocked down on Tuesday, 26th January, in Mile 12, Ketu, Lagos, eventually died in the early hours of Wednesday, 27th January 2021.
Giving details of the unfortunate incident, Oduyoye said “the driver of a blue-black Opel Space Bus with registration number AAA 74 GG knocked down Akinmade at Demurin Street junction inwards Mile 12, while controlling traffic.
He further said, “the officer was immediately rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), where he eventually died around 1.00 a.m., Wednesday morning, as a result of the severe injury sustained”.
The media statement described LASTMA Akinmade as “a young, intelligent and dedicated officer employed in the year 2019. He was very committed to his job but has been cut down in his prime by a careless and lawless driver, thereby depriving his family, the government agency, Lagos and Nigeria of a future leader in the making”, he said.
Narrating how the dastard act happened, the GM said, “the event occurred while the deceased was directing yellow buses away from the Demurin Street Junction’s chokepoint and approached the drivers to park away from the road to pick passengers”.
The statement explained further that, “the driver assumed that he would be apprehended for obstructing traffic and sped off, knocking down the officer against the concrete culvert on the service lane and dragged him for about seven metres”.
The mindless driver thereafter made spirited effort to evade arrest as he dashed through a street which turned out to be close, and he was eventually arrested and handed over to the Police at Alapere along with his vehicle”, Oduyoye explained.
The LASTMA GM/CEO expressed the sympathy of the deceased colleagues at the Ministry of Transportation and LASTMA to his entire family, assuring that the State Government will ensure that the apprehended driver is prosecuted in accordance with the law.
Oduyoye warned all motorists to desist from violating the State Traffic Law in order to prevent unnecessary traffic jam and human casualties on Lagos roads, urging commuters to exercise patience at all times.
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