LASTMA and police trade blames over death of bus driver

The death on Monday, of a commercial driver, Monday Jacob, has put both the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the State Police Command at loggerheads as both parties continue to trade blames over his death.

According to reports by eyewitnesses, the deceased driver died at the hands of LASTMA officials and policemen who beat him mercilessly at the Town Planning Junction, Ilupeju, till he gave up the ghost.

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Jacob had allegedly stopped his bus to carry passengers in a no-parking zone, which had led to the brutal assault by the law enforcement agents.

In the aftermath of his death, both the police and LASTMA have denied culpability and accused each other of being responsible for the beating and eventual death of the driver. Speaking on the issue, Babatunde Edu, General Manager, LASTMA, blamed the police for Jacob’s death and said it was “not true that LASTMA officials killed the driver.”

 “In fact the police officers involved were on a different mission,” he said, noting that officers at the Ilupeju Police Station had begun investigations into the matter. “Those officer responsible for the killing of the driver were not operating with LASTMA at all, they were operating on their own.”

Meanwhile, Richard Omolaja, the agency’s spokesman, has identified four police officers: Wasiu, Matthew, Lukman, and Legba, as responsible and claimed that eight policemen had being detained over the issue, with the bus conductor expected to identify the assailants among the officers.

 Ngozi Braide, Police Public Relations Officer, however, denied claims of police involvement in the Jacob’s death.