Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Imohimi Edgal, has called on drivers of-of light vehicles plying Funsho Williams Avenue and the Oshodi/Apapa expressway and other major roads to use service lanes as they were free of traffic. The police boss, however, warned truck driver not to use the service lane, as any attempt to do so would incur the wrath of the force.
Lagos CP EdgalFor many weeks, petroleum tankers and haulage trucks drivers had taken over the roads, causing gridlock and embarrassment to the state and federal governments, but the Lagos State Police Command, at the weekend, embarked on a multi-agency operation tagged ‘Operation Restore Sanity on the Roads’ to check the tide.
The command, in conjunction with other security agencies, had embarked on a series of consultations with stakeholders in order to find a lasting solution to the problem and its attendant consequences on law-abiding citizens plying the routes.
Shedding light on the operation that has so far reduced the traffic gridlock to an appreciable level on the routes, Edgar said that the service lane was now free for smaller vehicles, following a partnership with Planet Projects construction company, which aided the police in blocking the truck drivers from plying the service lanes.
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After the meeting, security agents were deployed to tackle the menace. Among those deployed were 1,000 policemen, 150 personnel of the Army, 100 naval personnel, 100 Air Force personnel, 100 officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and 120 operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps.
Others are 500 officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, 20 officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, 46 members of Amalgamation of Containers Truck Drivers, 50 members of Nigeria Association of Road Transport Owners, 50 personnel of NUPENG and 35 members of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria.
“Owing to the concern of the Federal Government to end the lingering crisis, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, accompanied by the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, visited Lagos State last weekend. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police led other service commanders to conduct His Excellency round the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway by chopper for the assessment of the menace of the drivers along the axis.
