The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has condemned the persistent practice of indiscriminate roadside passenger pickup by commercial bus operators, warning that the habit continues to cost lives on the city’s roads.
The agency’s General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, spoke on Monday following a fatal accident at Mile 2 in which a Toyota Highlander (APP 150 EY) crashed into a commercial bus (KJA 328 XH) that had parked illegally to collect passengers.
The Highlander’s driver died instantly after the vehicle lost control at speed and rammed into the stationary bus, according to preliminary investigations.
Bakare-Oki said LASTMA officers swiftly secured the scene, retrieved the victim’s body from the wreckage, and handed it over to police from the Ojo Division, who later conveyed it to the C-Niger Mortuary in Abule Ado. The damaged vehicles were towed to the Ojo Police Division for further investigation, while traffic flow on the busy corridor was restored.
Offering condolences to the victim’s family, Bakare-Oki urged commercial drivers to abandon reckless roadside pickups, saying enforcement would continue to be stepped up to prevent further tragedies.
