Motorists, who usually ply the Ojota-Maryland end of Ikorodu Road, have accused officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority as well as the police of extortion.
The motorists alleged that the enforcement agents used the peculiarity of the terrain to unjustly arrest and extort money from them.
A motorist, Charles Udah, said LASTMA officials and policemen usually arrestmotorists attempting to divert to the service lane through the lane designated for the Bus Rapid Transit buses.
He said, “If you are coming from Ojota and heading
for Maryland, you have no other alternative but to go through the service lane. However, there is a BRT lane between the expressway and the service lane.
“These LASTMA officials and policemen are aware of this, but they use the opportunity to arrest and extort money from motorists. I want the state government to intervene and make sure that this problem is resolved because we cannot continue to fall victim to these people.”
When PUNCH Metro visited the area on Wednesday, it was observed that the yellow line which distinguished the BRT lane from the expressway had faded, making it difficult for motorists to differentiate the main expressway from the BRT lane.
Two vans inscribed with the words, ‘BRT Monitoring and Enforcement Taskforce, Mile 12 to CMS’ were seen parked on the BRT lane, arresting motorists.
One of the arrested motorists, Daniel Okoro, told our correspondent that he could not distinguish the BRT lane from the main expressway because he could not see the dividing yellow line.
He said, “I do not usually ply this route. I was on my way to Maryland and I had approached the interchange when these policemen arrested me. They said I took the BRT lane and I explained to them that I did not know but they would not listen.
“They said I must pay N25,000 but where would I find that amount of money? I think the government needs to construct a BRT corridor or repaint the yellow line so that people would be able to differentiate the BRT lane from the expressway.”
Our correspondent also observed that garbage trucks belonging to the Lagos State Waste Management Agency and staff buses belonging to the state civil service took the lane without being accosted by the enforcement agents.
A car dealer at Maryland bus stop, who craved anonymity, urged the state government to contract private officials that would check the excesses of enforcement agents.
He said, “I see these enforcement agents extorting money from motorists every day. I think if the state government wants to enforce the traffic law fairly, these enforcement agents need to be checked as well.”
The Public Relations Officer, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Kola Ojelabi, told our correspondent on the telephone that LAMATA was aware of the faded BRT lines.
Ojelabi said efforts were being made to correct it.
“The BRT lanes are being upgraded and the markings will be done along with the upgrading,” he said.
The Commander, Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences, Bayo Suleiman, however, denied extortion by enforcement agents.
Suleiman said such allegations were not surprising since offenders would say anything to get out of trouble after being arrested.
He said, “The enforcement of the law regarding BRT lane is such that if we do not carry it out effectively, the purpose of the BRT scheme would be defeated. Motorists are allowed to join the service lane at Maryland after the bridge and not before it.
“Many motorists try to play smart and take the BRT lanes instead of passing at the Maryland interchange. My men do not extort. Is it possible to extort and still charge offenders to court? We toil day and night to keep Lagos safe and people need to appreciate us rather than making spurious allegations.”
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