Posted by By MOSHOOD ADEBAYO, Abeokuta on
Traffic offenders in Ogun State will from next Monday undertake psychiatric test for traffic offenders to determine their mental state and obtain certificate of mental fitness before being allowed to drive again.
Traffic offenders in Ogun State will from next Monday undertake psychiatric test for traffic offenders to determine their mental state and obtain certificate of mental fitness before being allowed to drive again.
The Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro Abeokuta, in the state capital, has been designated as the hospital where the offenders will be mentally assessed.
Ogun State Commissioner for Works, Prince Gbenga Osinowo, who spoke in Abeokuta, the state capital on Wednesday at the introduction of Mobile Traffic Courts said the measure was aimed at sanitizing traffic system in the state.
Already, a special cell in the Abeokuta prison has been designated as Traffic Offence Cell in order not to mix the offenders with hardened criminals
Osinowo lamented the attitudes and behaviour of some motorists and concluded that the introduction of the mobile court would stop such recklessness and indiscipline of some road users.
His words: 'For those found guilty of driving against traffic, apart from the penalty of fine or risk of imprisonment, such culprits will have to undergo a compulsory psychiatric test at Neuro psychtriatic Hospital, and obtain a certificate of mental fitness before being allowed to drive again."
The Mobile Traffic Court which begins operations next week, will and operate all days of the week, would prosecute offenders, especially those who drive against traffic where there is a little traffic hold-up on the expressway. The court will also try those who block roads to hold parties, drive without valid licence, use phone while driving among several other offences.
The commissioner, who said the establishment of the court was not targeted at any person or group, however, added that it was meant 'to maintain the rule of law and bring sanity to prevail on our roads."
While appealing to various religious groups in the state, especially those on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to co-operate with the state government, Osinowo, a former Customs assistant-comptroller-general assured that there would not be sacred cow.