Posted by By Amos Fajinmi on
An embattled official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Andrew Olatunji, who is currently standing trial at the Ikeja Magistrate's Court, for extorting money from a motorist driving against traffic, has denied collecting a bribe.
An embattled official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Andrew Olatunji, who is currently standing trial at the Ikeja Magistrate's Court, for extorting money from a motorist driving against traffic, has denied collecting a bribe.
Narrating his own side of the story, Olatunji said on 15 July, 2008, at about 8.30 a.m., the offender made a U-turn on the Egbeda-Idimu road and wanted to drive against traffic to Zenith Bank, about a block away.
'LASTMA officials stopped him, but the motorist, trying to escape arrest, parked his vehicle in front of the PHCN office, just beside Zenith Bank.
'He later told us that he drove that way for security reasons because he had a large amount of money in his car and he was in a hurry to get the money to the bank before closing time. We reasoned along with him and allowed him to deposit the money in the bank.
'When he came out of the bank, we decided to take him to the office and having shown a great deal of remorse, after educating him about the implications of driving against the traffic, I decided to release him. I got out of his car along with Corporal Bamidele of the Nigeria Police.
'After getting out of his car, he now called us back, saying he appreciated our gesture. By that time, I was some distance away. 'Corporal Bamidele went back and he handed him the money. I got to know that Corporal Bamidele received money from the victim. I never counted the money to know the amount. I never knew how much was collected. It was Corporal Bamidele who collected the money who should know the amount. I never, on my own, asked for money from the offender,' the LASTMA official stated.
Olatunji added that he made two statements at the task force office. 'The statement in front was the true account of what happened, but after making that statement, the investigating police officer, Sgt. Abdullahi, cajoled me to write the second one to assist others who are also in trouble. That was why I refused to sign it,' he said. The case has been adjourned till 24 October.