BY Haleem Olatunji
Moyosore Onigbanjo, Lagos commissioner for justice, is said to have directed the prosecution of Emmanuel Ben, a man who allegedly assaulted an officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA).
Olajide Oduyoye, LASTMA general manager, disclosed this in a statement issued by Filade Olumide, the agency’s assistant director of public affairs.
The incident was said to have occured at Jakande junction in Lekki on November 8.
Olumide said Ismaila Lukman, the assualted officer, was at his duty post controlling traffic when he was approached by Ben, who asked him to stop vehicular movement for him to cross the road.
He said after Lukman refused his request, Ben attacked the officer by hitting his head with what seemed to be a metal object.
The commissioner said Ben must be made “to face the full wrath of the law for the assault to serve as a deterrent to others with similar motives”.
“According to Lukman, he was on his beat at Jakande Junction controlling traffic manually owing to the destruction of the traffic signal light during the last protest hijacked by hoodlums when Ben approached him asking that traffic be stopped for him to cross, even with the presence of pedestrian bridge nearby which the LASTMA officer said he should avail himself of,” the statement read.
“He then proceeded to step into the carriageway in front of moving traffic, causing disruption to traffic flow. Lukman then asked him to leave the road and stop disturbing his work.
“An eyewitness said that Ben thereafter threatened that LASTMA officials would be chased off the road like the police and attacked Lukman, hitting him on his head with a weapon that seems to be a metal, causing serious laceration resulting in flow of blood.
“Ben was joined in the officer’s assault by two passersby who are currently at large, while Ben was arrested with the help of the military patrol and police around the area. He’s currently at the Ilasan Police Station for prosecution at the earliest possible time.”
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