LASTMA clears air on alleged involvement in death of Keke operator

• He noted that no one could say with an appreciable degree of certainty if the man was indeed a Marwa rider

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has reacted to several reports making the rounds that the actions of its men led to the death of a Keke operator in the State.

Within Nigeria had reported on Friday that a yet-to-be-identified man took his own life in a compound housing the office of LASTMA in Ikorodu area of the State.

The deceased, who hanged himself on tree, was said to have resorted to suicide after some LASTMA operatives seized his tricycle and refused to release it after he begged them.

Reacting to the incident, LASTMA General Manager, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, said its operatives were not responsible for the dead body found hanging by the gate of the estate along the Lagos-Sagamu Expressway.

He made the clarification in a statement by Mr Taofiq Adebayo, the agency’s Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, on Friday.

Bakare-Oki stated that there was no iota of truth in rumours circulating on social media insinuating that the deceased’s vehicle was impounded by the officers of the agency.

He confirmed that the body was discovered early hours of Thursday by passersby and was immediately reported to the police at Shagamu Road.

“Several speculations were made by sympathisers present at the scene. Some said he was dressed like a motorcyclist (okada rider), while some speculated he was a tricyclist (Marwa rider).

“Some even believed he was brought to the scene by his killers during the wee hours of midnight, and stage managed it, to give it the semblance of suicide because the victim’s leg was touching ground”

He noted that no one could say with an appreciable degree of certainty if the man was indeed a Marwa rider.

“For brevity, no one could really identify him as either an okada or Marwa rider from amongst several operators of okada and Marwa who visited the scene.

“It is unfortunate that the incident occurred by an estate gate along Lagos-Shagamu Expressway,” Bakare-Oki said.

While expressing sympathy to the deceased family, he warned those spreading unfounded reports to verify information before disseminating it.

“Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has been evacuated by the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit, Yaba, Lagos,” he added