The security situation in Lagos State remains alarmingly unsafe despite efforts by the State Government to provide adequate security and safety for the state.
Cultism and the cultists heinous activities have spread beyond borders. It has become a safety debacle as it is now interwoven with robbery, kidnapping, assaults and physical harassment. The death of a popular musician, Oladimeji IleriOluwa Aloba, popular known as Mohbad was also cultism related.
Traffic law enforcement in Lagos State has been affected greatly as almost all the Road Traffic Unions a.k.a Agbero and a large number Commercial bus drivers and bus conductors especially mini buses a.k.a Danfo are Cultists. They harassed and attacked law enforcement officials in order to prevent them from enforcing the road traffic laws. They are above the laws as they drive recklessly on the road, flout the road traffic laws and even boasted with the slang, “nothing dey happen”. You will recall that a LASTMA staff Godwin Segun Obasu deployed to Anthony, Ikorodu road was hacked down in bright daylight by bus drivers and conductors on 16th March 2021 and died on 17th March 2021. Today, the assailant are walking freely on Lagos road, another case of justice denied.
Their threats and attacks had resulted into so many officials leaving them to becoming the lords of the roads, while only the bold ones have the courage to enforce and arrest the contrevening vehicles with some elements of fear.
Unfortunately, it is sad that some of the officials of the agency died in the course of duty while some sustained lifetime injuries that had led to permanent disabilities. The unregulated commercial yellow buses ( Danfo) in Lagos have become demons that swallow law enforcement officials .
For some of this law enforcement officials, their stories are heartbreaking and pathetic. A senior official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority narrates his experience why he voluntarily retired from service with three outstanding years before statutory retirement. Mr Muyiwa Ogunnoiki was an Assistant Comptroller with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority who was in charge of Traffic Operations and Enforcement on Ikorodu road which was a notorious axis on law flouting by the commercial drivers and notable for cultism. He told our correspondent that he actually retired voluntarily from service because of threats and safety for his life which in recent times is becoming almost a weekly activity. While he was on terminal leave, waiting for the retirement to be effective before he finally resumes to Ijebu Iloti where he has acquired 20 hectares of land for farming, around 1.00am on Friday 2nd December 2022, his house at 5, Oremeji New Site ( Also known as LASTMA Street), Ogijo was attacked by unknown assailant that were shooting sporadically while making efforts to forcefully enter the house. He was lucky that by the time they eventually gained entrance into the house, he had escaped through the back door with his brother. By the time the vigilante group and some neighbors arrived at the scene, the attackers had escaped and had scattered and damaged properties in the house.
While thanking God for saving his life, he fled to a friend’s house at Ilupeju, Onipanu Lagos for safety. The assailant kept calling his number and his brother, sending threatening messages with mobile numbers that could not be traced. If he thinks retirement will save him from retaliation for some of successful enforcement of traffic laws via the arrest of some buses, he must be dreaming. The message was clear “we will locate and take care of him wherever he is and will deal with the person that accommodated him “.
At this point, he said “my friend that accommodated me feared for his safety and advised me to leave his house to save his life and mine”.
Mr Ogunnoiki said it was sad that after he left Lagos they were still calling his brother with threat that there is no way he can escape their wrath.
With this kind of pathetic story that touched the heart, there is the need for the State Government to critically look into the operations of the yellow commercial buses and adopt a lasting solution to their mode of operations and regulate the employment and deployment of drivers and bus conductors.
