LASTMA Killings: Two men remanded in custody
Admin l Tuesday, December 03, 2019
YABA, Lagos, Nigeria – A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Yaba, Lagos today remanded two men, Abdullahi Akerele, and Nurudeen Ogungbe over alleged murder of an official of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Ola Oyeshina on November 29, 2019. Oyeshina was murdered on duty at Sifax-Iganmu area of Apapa, Lagos.
The presiding Chief Magistrate, Kikelomo Bukola Ayeye ordered their remand following the application brought by the police for remand by virtue of Section 264 of Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2015 (ACJL 2015).
Before the she ordered their remand, the Chief magistrate however inquired into the reason for the request and circumstance under which the defendants were arrested.
The second defendant, Ogungbe informed the court that he was an eye witness and that he saw the LASTMA encounter with the uniform mopol on duty at the spot where he was killed.
“Myself and the first defendant were passerby, we were arrested during raid. We were not involved. I promise to assist the police on the investigation. I am a member of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Apapa”, he told the court.
The Chief Magistrate therefore ordered that the defendants be remanded in custody pending final investigation and advise from the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) She subsequently adjourned the case till January 28, 2020.
It would be recalled that thugs unleashed the terror to prevent the Oyesina and his colleagues from towing stationery trucks causing nuisance on the road. The team had around 5pm on Friday gone to clear trucks obstructing the flow of traffic on the highway. As they wanted to tow the trucks causing the blockade, some drivers and hoodlums pounced on them.
In the process, they reportedly hauled stones at the officials which hit Oyeshina and made him unconscious.
“They were on normal enforcement in the area when they were attacked. Trucks are parked indiscriminately, causing serious traffic in that area. They had gone there to enforce the traffic law. They wanted to tow one of those trucks when the drivers and some hoodlums attacked them”, an eye witness said.
