Dare Babalola
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has denied allegations that it allowed motorists to use the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor from Ojota to Idi-Iroko, inward Anthony along Ikorodu Road, Lagos.
In a statement on Thursday by Adebayo Taofiq the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, the agency clarified that only two areas – Odo-Iya Alaro and Eko Bridge – have been temporarily authorised for use due to ongoing bridge rehabilitation works.
The agency was reacting to a viral video on Facebook where some motorists lamented their arrest for using the BRT corridor.
An unidentified motorist, who made the viral video claimed that officials of the LASTMA at Ojota directed him and other road users to ply the BRT lane, wondering why the Idi-Iroko operatives of the agency arrested them.
Checks into the comment section of the page showed some Lagosians, who claimed to have used the route, backing the claims of the motorist.
However, the agency declared that an internal inquiry by LASTMA found no evidence to support the claim that officers instructed motorists to use the BRT corridor, saying that visual evidence showed the main road at Idi-Iroko was free-flowing, contradicting the allegations.
“Visual evidence captured contemporaneously at the same location revealed that the principal carriageway at Idi-Iroko inward Anthony was free-flowing, with vehicles traversing unimpeded, thereby exposing the allegation as patently fabricated and devoid of merit.
“As an agency vested with statutory authority to entrench sanity on Lagos roads, LASTMA remains unyielding in its mandate to safeguard traffic orderliness, enforce vehicular discipline, and preserve the sanctity of transport corridors particularly the BRT lanes which are integral to the efficient functioning of mass transit within the State,” the statement reads partly.
LASTMA warned motorists against unlawfully using the BRT corridor, saying offenders would be apprehended and face legal sanctions.
The Lagos State Government also assured the public that rehabilitation works are being expedited and interim traffic measures will be rescinded upon completion.
