By Elizabeth Godwin
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has impounded 235 vehicles and arrested 10 individuals in a sweeping enforcement operation aimed at curbing traffic violations and restoring order across key corridors of the state.
The crackdown, which began earlier this week, was announced on Thursday by LASTMA’s General Manager, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, who said the operation targeted notorious traffic flashpoints including Oyingbo, Iddo, Eja-Lonibu, Adeniji Adele Bridge, Sabo, the Inter-State Terminal at Jibowu, and Oshodi.
“These areas have long struggled with severe congestion, reckless parking, environmental abuses, and general lawlessness on the roads,” Bakare-Oki told journalists in Lagos.
During the first phase of the operation, enforcement officers seized:
- 38 private vehicles
- 156 commercial Volkswagen buses (Danfo)
- 19 minibuses and tricycles (Korope)
- 5 haulage trucks
- 17 inter-state passenger buses
The LASTMA boss said the vehicles were impounded for various infractions under the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018, including illegal parking on pedestrian walkways, obstruction of traffic, operating unauthorized terminals, and flagrant disregard for traffic regulations.
In one alarming case, five articulated trucks were caught illegally unloading livestock—rams, cows, and abattoir waste—on Adeniji Adele Bridge, endangering public safety and threatening the structural integrity of the bridge.
“They compromised both sanitation laws and engineering safety standards,” Bakare-Oki said, adding that the drivers face imminent prosecution.
The operation was initiated at the direction of Mr. Sola Giwa, Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Transportation, who has pushed for “a strategic, coordinated response” to the worsening culture of road indiscipline in the state.
Bakare-Oki stressed that the current action is just the beginning. “This is a city-wide initiative,” he said, confirming that the campaign would expand to Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, and Epe, combining regulation, logistics, and digital tools to reclaim road space for lawful users.
“LASTMA is now under a zero-tolerance directive,” he declared. “This is not about targeting any group—it’s about ending systemic dysfunction. Road users must now see compliance not as a burden, but as a civic responsibility.”
The 10 individuals arrested during the operation have been charged with traffic-related offences and are expected to appear before the Lagos State Mobile Court in the coming days.
