Motorists must resist any attempt by traffic officers to extort money from them.

According to Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, Chris Olakpe, the advice became necessary, due to persistent complaints of extortions by motorists that LASTMA officials on highways were feeding fat on them.

Olakpe, a former Assistant Inspector General of Police gave the charge, saying Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub has been in traffic lock-down in recent months, made worse by indiscipline among motorists and apparent low governance in the state.

He warned that giving money to traffic control officers was a crime, saying motorists should obey traffic managers and desist from giving them bribe.

According to him, Traffic managers are there to make life easy for the public and not to make life difficult for them, saying any motorist with sincere proof of extortion by traffic managers should report to the appropriate authority, rather than resorting to attacking and harassing officers on duty.

He said such attacks on a traffic officer would cause more hardship for the motoring public, saying three LASTMA officers alongside four police officers had been arrested for extorting money from motorists in the last week of last month.

Olakpe said sixteen other LASTMA officers were currently facing disciplinary actions, noting that if the officers were found guilty, they would face either dismissal or demotion.

He pleaded with motorists to show understanding with the ongoing rehabilitation of many roads in Lagos, which he described as a major cause of the gridlock, saying LASTMA and its sister agencies, including the Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and the police had deployed more operatives on the roads.

The LASTMA chief reassured that the traffic managers were capable of handling the traffic jam in the state, especially around Iganmu, Costain Roundabout, Apapa and other traffic-prone areas.