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LASTMA Back in Court

By newswatchngr.com 14/10/2011 05:24:00

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Lagos State Traffic Management Agency, LASTMA, is back in court to appeal a court judgement against its practice of imposing arbitrary fines against traffic offenders

It is not yet uhuru for Jonathan Odutola, the man who won a court judgement against the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA. Odutola, a construction engineer, had challenged LASTMA’s imposition of fine on traffic offenders. He won the case on September 21, when a Federal High Court in Lagos presided over by Justice Okon Abang, declared the imposition of fines by LASTMA as illegal and directed LASTMA to pay monetary compensation to him.

But the judgement did not go down well with the Lagos State government and has proceeded to an appeal court to seek the upturning of the ruling. Babatunde Fashola, governor of Lagos State, said in his defence of LASTMA that transportation is a municipal matter over which state governments have residual legislative authority. The governor said when an offender is apprehended, he can opt for trial in the court or in the alternative, agree to pay the fine without going to court. “I think this represents the ambits under which we have been operating,” the governor said.

In a follow-up reaction, Ade Ipaye, the state attorney-general and commissioner for justice, said his office was going to file an appeal immediately. “Lagos State, Federal Government and other jurisdiction have laws that validly impose fines in the same way as the LASTMA law, so we are certainly not satisfied with the judgement,” Ipaye said.

However, Odutola has queried the rationale of the state government’s appeal, insisting that the government should rather see the ruling as a mirror reflecting the pain residents of the state were undergoing due to the unlawful fines being imposed by LASTMA. He said it was unfortunate that oppressive and undemocratic actions did not end with military rule in the country. “I am surprised that considering the jubilation that greeted the judgement, the state government insisted that this decision of the court that is giving hope to Nigerians would be challenged. It is a demonstration of Jack Boot mentality,” he said.

Odutola had dragged LASTMA to a Federal High Court in Lagos for unlawfully impounding his car and imposing illegal fine on him in March this year while driving his car on the Third Mainland Bridge when his car suddenly developed some mechanical problems. He said to ensure that the car did not obstruct free flow of traffic, he immediately called a towing van which towed the vehicle completely out of the road. He paid the towing van operator for the service rendered.

According to him, he called his mechanic to fix the car. But as soon as the mechanic arrived, some policemen on patrol who apparently wanted him to give them money prevented him from working on the car. When he resisted, he was thoroughly beaten along with his mechanic. That was how his car was towed away and fine slammed on him.

Odutola’s decision to take the case to court was described as an act of courage by Ibrahim Abdulazeez, a lawyer based in Lagos. He said the court has now made it clear that it is now illegal for LASTMA to be a judge in its own case. He explained that it was cheering news that traffic offenders can no longer be fined by LASTMA but a court of law. To him, the decision of the court was novel. Other Lagos residents who have been victims of LASTMA’s high handedness are still in jubilation mood with the decision of the court.

In May 2009, LASTMA officials accompanied by armed policemen had pursued of a traffic offender in Mushin area of Lagos State, in a commando like driving. The incident resulted to the death of a pedestrian while two other passers-by sustained various degrees of injuries.

But others have argued that without LASTMA’s imposition of fine on traffic offenders, it would almost be impossible to control Lagos traffic because of the lawless tendencies of many motorists.