The Lagos State government has called on motorists to comply with the provisions of the State Traffic Laws.
The
Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos, Mr. Adeniji
Kazeem, who made the call in a statement on Tuesday warned that the
government would not hesitate to bring the full weight of the law on
offenders.
He said motorists must be reminded that violators of
the law risk between one and three years imprisonment and forfeiture of
their vehicles to the state government.
“Lagos State
Government remains committed to enforcement of Law and Order to make
living in the State an enjoyable and stress-free experience,” he said in
a statement from the State Ministry of Justice.
The
commissioner said the Ministry of Justice, through the Mobile Courts,
would intensify effort to prosecute the lawlessness of unruly motorists
to restore sanity on Lagos roads.
This development, according to
him, is in line with governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s directive on efforts of
the government to curb the lawlessness of some motorists, which in
recent times, had led to gridlock and caused untold hardship for
commuters in the state.
Kazeem specifically said the ministry
would ensure full implementation and compliance with the Road Traffic
Law and other extant laws on road management applicable in the state.
He
stated, “The public is hereby reminded of the provisions of the Road
Traffic Law, Laws of Lagos State 2015 and in particular, Section 7 which
provides:
“Where an Officer of the Authority is for the time
being engaged in the regulation of the traffic on the Highway or where
any traffic sign, being a traffic sign direction for regulating the
movement of traffic or regulating the route to be followed by vehicle
has been lawfully placed on or near a Highway in accordance with the
provisions of this law, any person driving or propelling any vehicle
who-
“(a) neglects or refuses to stop the vehicle or to make
it proceed or to keep to a particular lane or direction of traffic when
directed to do so by the Officer in the execution of his duties or
“(b)
drives his vehicle against oncoming traffic or fails to conform to the
direction or indication given by the traffic sign, shall be guilty of an
offence and shall be liable on conviction for:
“(i) first offender one (1) year imprisonment and forfeiture of the vehicle to the State
“(ii) second and subsequent offender three (3) years imprisonment and forfeiture of the vehicle to the State.
“(c ) all offenders shall have their data and biometrics captured.”
According
to the attorney general, Schedule I of the said law lists various
traffic violations such as disobeying traffic control personnel and
assault on their person, parking on a yellow line, use of Bus Rapid
Transit (BRT) route by unauthorized vehicle, among others as offences
that would be strictly prosecuted.
He, therefore, advised members
of the public to be law abiding and cooperate with traffic officials in
ensuring compliance and sanity on the roads.
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