Court Sentences 55-Year Old Fake LASTMA Officer To Two Years In Imprisonment

The Lagos State Special Offences (Mobile) Court sitting at Bolade, Oshodi on Monday, sentenced one Omotutu Bamidele, a fake Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officer to a two-year jail term for impersonating the agency and extorting money from motorists across the state.

THE WHISTLER reported on Sunday that Bamidele was arrested over the weekend by operatives of LASTMA for impersonating the agency around Ikoyi area of the state.

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The suspect who hails from Atijere town in Ondo State had confessed that he and his colleagues make an average of N35,000 from extorting motorists on daily basis. Items recovered from him include fake identity card and a reflex jacket.

Bamidele was arraigned by LASTMA on a 2-Count charges of “Did impersonate as a public officer by representing as staff of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (S.78 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015)” and “Did obtain by fraudulent trick (Sec. 323 of the Criminal Law, Lagos State)” before the court.

Magistrate Kehinde Ogundare sentenced Bamidele to a 2-year jail term without any option of fine after he pleaded guilty to the 2- count charges levied against him.

Reacting to the judgement, the General Manager of LASTMA, Bolaji Oreagba said it was a welcome development as it would serve as deterrent to others who are still extorting money from innocent members of public under false pretence.

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“Our Monitoring and Surveillance Unit which has now been fully restructured would continue to hunt for other bad elements disturbing the peace of the society,” Oreagba was quoted as saying in a statement by the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq on Tuesday.

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