LASTMA Clears Air As Tricycle Operator Commits Suicide Over Seized Motorcycle

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has denied involvement in the death of a tricycle operator in the Ikorodu area of the state.

Naija News reports that the unidentified man had on Thursday reportedly committed suicide after efforts to retrieve his seized tricycle from some government agents proved abortive in the Ikorodu area.

According to Punch, an eyewitness, Prince Excel, in a video posted on WhatsApp, had said: “This is early Thursday morning, July 11, 2024, an unfortunate situation just happened right now. A man just committed suicide on the major road at the Jubilee Estate in front of the LASTMA gate on the Sagamu Road. This is quite unfortunate.”

However, LASTMA, in a statement by the spokesperson of the agency, Adebayo Taofiq, debunked reports that officers of the agency impounded the deceased’s tricycle.

LASTMA, while confirming that the body of the deceased was discovered in the early hours of Thursday, explained that no one could identify him as either an Okada or tricycle rider from amongst several operators of Okada and tricycle who visited the scene of the incident.

Adebayo said the body of the man was evacuated by the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU), Yaba.

While sympathizing with the family of the deceased, LASTMA warned “those spreading unfounded reports to verify information before disseminating it.”

The statement read, “The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) wishes to debunk in no equivocal terms that its operatives are not responsible for the dead body found hanging by the gate of an Estate along Lagos – Shagamu Expressway, Lagos.

“Several speculations were made by sympathisers present at the scene. Some said he was dressed like a motorcyclist (Okada rider), while some speculated he was a tricyclist (Marwa rider). Some even believed he was brought to the scene by his killers during the wee hours of midnight, and stage managed it to give it the semblance of suicide, because the victim’s leg was touching ground.

“For brevity, no one could really identify him as either an Okada or Marwa rider from amongst several operators of Okada and Marwa who visited the scene.”