CRIME: LAGOS COURT SENDS FAKE LASTMA OFFICIAL TO JAIL
Agency Report
David Oluchukwu, a fictitious employee of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, was sentenced to four months in prison on Monday by the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offenses Mobile Court in Bolade, Oshodi, for impersonating and extorting the public, particularly commercial bus drivers.
Oluchukwu was charged with two counts relating to conduct likely to cause a breach of peace and impersonation, according to Taofiq Adebayo, Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, LASTMA, who confirmed the development in a statement on Tuesday. Adebayo added that after pleading guilty, Oluchukwu was sentenced without the option of a fine.
āThe Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Mobile Court sitting at Bolade, Oshodi, on Monday, December 19, 2022, sentenced an arrested fake LASTMA officer, David Oluchukwu, to a four-month jail term for impersonating and extorting money from motorists, particularly commercial bus drivers in Lagos.
āThe convicted fake LASTMA officer was arraigned by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority on two-count of āconduct likely to cause breach of peaceā and āimpersonationā before the court.ā He said.
The prosecuting counsel, Agbaje Oladotun, stated that both offences levelled against the convict contravened Section 168 (D) and Section 78 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State (2015) respectively.
āMagistrate Adesanya Ademola sentenced Oluchukwu to a four-month jail term without any option of fine after he pleaded āguiltyā to the two-count levelled against him.
āMagistrate Adesanya emphasised that the convict should serve the four months jail term without any option fine due to the gravity of the offences committed,ā Adebayo said.
Bolaji Oreagba, General Manager of LASTMA, responded to the verdict by saying it was a welcome development because it would serve as a deterrent to others who were still using false pretenses to extort money from innocent members of the public.
āOur Surveillance and Intelligence Unit which has now been fully restructured would continue to hunt for other bad elements disturbing the peace of the society,ā Oreagba was quoted to have said.
Adebayo said that Oreagba advised drivers, in particular those operating commercial buses, to rigorously abide by the requirements of the 2018 Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law.
An earlier report claimed that Oluchukwu admitted to making N40,000 per day from the illegal transportation operation after his arrest in the state’s Lekki region.