Officials argue for and against the legality of LASTMA’s power to impound cars and fine traffic offenders.
LASTMA officials impounded his vehicle for breaching the BRT corridor, but he claimed there was no signpost there.
His story is synonymous with the everyday experience of many Lagos motorists, some of whose cars have been forfeited and auctioned in accordance with the traffic law of the state. Justice Oresanya narrowed down the issues in the case to three and resolved all in favour of the plaintiff, relying on Sections 34, 36 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution , among others.
The court, therefore, held that the plaintiff was entitled to damages and compensation for the infringement on his fundamental rights. “Consequently, members of the public are therefore advised to be law abiding and ensure compliance with relevant Laws of the State.”However, when contacted by The Guardian, the spokesman for LASTMA, Mr. Adebayo Taofik, said the agency only enforces the Lagos State Transport Reform Law, 2018.
On the powers of the Agency to impound vehicles, Taofik declared that by virtue of section 27 of the Lagos Transport Sector Reform Law, it is empowered to arrest and prosecute and traffic offender, including removing and impounding any vehicle. Asked to explain why there is a stipulated amount of N70, 000 fine for any motorist apprehended for plying the BRT lane, if the discretion of fine resides with the court, Taofik declared that he is not aware of such fine.
“Also, in the case of Ebiteh v Obiki 5 NWLR 599 @ 617, Ejiwunmi still on the issue of supremacy of the Constitution over every other law, held that ‘It is only necessary to restate the well accepted principle accorded to written Constitutions, such as our own Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that those Constitution being the Supreme Law of the land stands above any other enactment, statutes or laws, and its provisions cannot be made subject to any other Act or enactment except...
“The Court of Appeal in the case of the Governor, Delta State & Ors v. Edun LPELR-53369 Per Ekanem, J.C.A admonished the government in these words: ‘Before drawing the curtain on this judgment, I need to remind public bodies and public officers that a public body or public officer vested with statutory power must take care not to exceed or abuse its or his power. It or he must keep within the limits of the authority committed to it.
The Court proceeded to strike down section 18 of the Delta State Traffic Management Authority Law 2013 on the ground of inconsistency with the provisions of section 6, 6 and 272 of the 1999 Constitution.
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