No fewer than 1,490 persons who committed various traffic offences including street traders have been convicted in Lagos by the state Police command.
The Command also stated that it arrested 1,709 suspects for various offences in the state between June 1 and September 9, 2022.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, stated that enforcement of the ban on commercial motorcycle operations between June 1 and September 9, 2022, led to the impoundment of 4,694 motorcycles from recalcitrant commercial motorcyclists.
According to Hundeyin, in June 2022, 1,885 motorcycles were impounded for contravening the ban.
He also noted that there was a decline in July when 1,501 motorcycles were impounded, while August and September saw the impoundment of 1,029 and 279 motorcycles respectively.
Besides, the spokesperson said that out of the 1,709 persons arrested for flouting traffic laws and committing other offences in the state, 131 suspects were screened out, while a total of 1,578 were charged to court, leading to the conviction of 1,490.
Out of the 1,578 suspects prosecuted, eight had their cases struck out, 11 were discharged while 69 were still awaiting trial
Speaking on the development through a statement, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr Abiodun Alabi, said: “The enforcement has to be continuous to maintain the tempo that we have attained within so short a time. Many of the seized motorcycles have been crushed, but the most important message that we want to pass across is compliance so that the government does not have to crush any motorcycles.”