As 7,350 impounded ‘Okada’ awaits directive

Impounded motorcyles popularly called okada

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

In an apparent display of Lagos State Government’s zero-tolerance to violation of traffic law, the State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences Unit has concluded arrangements to auction vehicles of 31 traffic offenders already convicted by the court for driving against oncoming traffic, otherwise called, “One Way.”

Also slated for auctioning are 22 automobiles that were abandoned for over six months after their being impounded for various traffic offences.

ALSO READ: Lagos impounds 134 motorcycles over traffic rules

Chairman of the Agency, Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP, Olayinka Egbeyemi, who disclosed this, Wednesday, explained that owners of the impounded vehicles who abandoned their cars had contravened the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law 2018.

He, however, said that public notice has been issued for owners of both the court forfeited and abandoned cars to identify their vehicles at the agency’s car parks in Ikorodu and Bolade-Oshodi.

According to Egbeyemi, “At the expiration of the one-month verification exercise the agency shall apply to the court for an order of ‘Public Auction’ where members of the public would have opportunity to buy any of these vehicles.”

Egbeyemi said that sequel to the auctioning, owners of the forfeited vehicles to the government had pleaded guilty before Magistrate Omobola Salawu of the state Mobile Court at Oshodi after their arrest for driving against traffic.

He affirmed that in addition to forfeiture of the vehicles, each traffic offender was sentenced to 100 days ‘Community Service’ at any public institution.

The chairman, however, maintained that with the state government’s zero-tolerance the agency would not hesitate to continue to prosecute traffic offenders until sanity is restored on the roads and law-abiding citizens allowed to commute without being impeded by few unlawful individuals.

Egbeyemi also confirmed that over 7,350 impounded motorcycles were in custody of the agency for plying restricted routes, including highways and bridges across the state.

“The agency is awaiting further directives from the government in respect of the impounded motorcycles which were impounded around Agege, Pen-Cinema, Apapa, Ikorodu, Mile 2, Obalende, Oyingbo, 2nd Rainbow, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Ojota, Maryland, Yaba, Oshodi, Ikorodu Road, Apongbon, Ikeja and Iyana-Ipaja,” Egbeyemi stated.

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