The latest clampdown by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who ordered the arrest of motorcyclists who were caught plying a ‘one-way’ route (facing oncoming traffic), is quite laudable. However, the governor’s action is merely a one-off measure, it cannot tame the riotous lawlessness being perpetrated by riders and drivers in Lagos. The government, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, needs to entrench a strategy to enforce traffic regulations and adequately deal with offenders.

In a short video clip that went viral on social media on Tuesday, the governor, after alighting from his vehicle on his way to a public function in Ojo, directed his security aides to arrest and detain the defaulters. The offenders were caught riding against the traffic, as has become their culture in many parts of the state. These included a young man dressed in plain clothes, who claimed to be a soldier. “That is even more reason why I will lock you up,” Sanwo-Olu could be heard saying in the video.

In another video, Sanwo-Olu was heard talking to passers-by and chiding a lady who had boarded one of the motorcycles for allowing the motorcyclist to take her through the ‘one-way’ route, “You people are the ones causing it,” the governor said. “Maybe I should arrest two of you and put you in the guardroom. Then you will know.”

The media is awash with reports of road crashes caused by route violations. In January 2023, no fewer than 11 people died in a fatal crash that occurred at Soka Bridge on the Lagos-Benin highway. The Federal Road Safety Corps Marshal, Dauda Biu “cautioned commuters against route violation (popularly referred to as ‘one way’ in local parlance), as well as driving against prescribed legal limits on all roads.”

Between January and August 2023, there were 353 road accidents, which claimed 75 lives, according to the FRSC Lagos Sector Commander, Babatunde Farinloye. Another estimate by the FRSC recorded 128 deaths in 10 months in the state. While Sanwo-Olu’s action is commendable, it did not have to require a sitting governor to personally intervene in apprehending traffic offenders. What is needed is the enforcement of laws by state agents.

In recognition of the menace, the state government revived the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law in 2022. It prescribes the forfeiture of the vehicle concerned to the state as the penalty for violation of traffic directions. Commercial drivers who violate traffic routes as first-time offenders are to be fined of N20,000 and N30,000 as subsequent offenders. An additional penalty is to have their vehicles impounded and be enlisted for counselling at the Lagos State Drivers’ Institute.

The commercial motorcyclists are defacing Lagos with the lawlessness. They blatantly flout the law that bans them from carrying more than one passenger and use of helmets without retribution. This is wrong. Henceforth, Sanwo-Olu should see to the enforcement of the “total and indefinite” law banning motorcycles from the highways, bridges, and roads in six local government and local council development areas.

Unfortunately, these regulations have been enforced in the breach. Beyond the weak enforcement, these laws are violated by state agents, who also brazenly extort motorists.

In Lagos – and all parts of Nigeria – security personnel are complicit in the violation of traffic regulations. This should stop. No one is above the law. Traffic operatives and security agents that violate the law must also be prosecuted.

Nigeria has unwittingly nurtured a culture of impunity in which citizens have no regard for basic regulations and consequently endanger lives through traffic route violations. This can be curbed by strengthening institutions that will ensure the enforcement of extant laws, the prosecution of traffic offenders, upholding safety for all road users.

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