If you reside within and around Lagos you would have seen the "Pseudo Traffic cops" popularly known as LASTMA Officials in their faded cream-coloured shirt and "red" trousers.
In as much as I agree these guys might be doing a good job in controlling the chaotic nature of the Lagos traffic situation, it has become obvious that the corrupt "settlement" fever has also gripped them. Little wonder the public don't respect them any more; and they in turn "deal" with any person that falls into their "hands" with their bluffs.
I fell . . .
I fell into their hands on Monday 3rd March, 2008. I erroneously made a u-turn on a road that had a very faint "solid-line" and without a "No U-Turn" sign as it were. Suffice it to say, one of the LASTMA guys "jumped" into my car.
Should I settle. . .
Shortly afterwards he informed me that if I was to get to their office at ALAUSA area of Lagos, I will be fined N20,00.00 (twenty thousand naira) for the offence. But that he will "HELP" me by asking me to give him just N5,000.00 (five thousand naira) to let me go. I'd already made up my mind not to give him anything since he failed to let me go after I pleaded with him.
My refusal to agree to this possible got him upset because he made sure I got to their Office at Alausa, where my was parked/impounded? (which from the list of bills should not be so).
Wrong bill
I was given a total fine of N4,000.00. The wrong u-turn had a N2,000.00, but because I failed to "settle" the guy, he got his boss to trump up another N2,000.00 fine that made the total N4,000.00 as I later got to see on the reverse side of the bill, and raised the issue of wrongful billing with the boss, only for him to say he couldn't change it.
Un-Receipted payments
I was then directed to pay the bill at a GTBank branch at Allen Avenue in Lagos (about 20mins away) then come back to the sub-treasury unit of Ministry of Transport premises, a stone throw from the LASTMA office Alausa to process the receipt, made photocopies, paid an un-receipted N500.00 for "Gate Pass", got a on-site vulcanizer to pump 2 of my deflated tyres at N100.00 per tyre (as against N40 each on the street).
A nearer GTBank
While at the treasury, I noticed that a GTBank office located within the Ministry premises and I wondered why I wasn't directed to the branch of the Bank instead going all the way to Allen Avenue.
The Bluff
Because the N5000-guy (I noted his name tag too) thought I was ignorant of the actual fine charged, he threw a scary N20,000 value at me so that I will negotiate with him. To which I called his bluff because I preferred paying the money to the State treasury instead of road-side LASTMA thief.
Ending the Mystery
In order to KILL the mystery about the FINES & PENALTIES BY LASTMA, I have placed LINKS in this write-up to a scanned photocopy of the fines as seen on the reverse page of the bill I was given.
I suggest you look through the details, so that as you try your best to avoid traffic offences, you will have the details of the possible bills you will pay when & if you flaunt one.
Drive safely.
Click on image to enlarge.
2 comments:
If only i have read this piece earlier, i just had my car towed where it was parked in front of Mega Plaza on Idowu Martins to the Lastma base a few metres away on Adeola Odeku,now they are billing me N10,000(Ten Thousand Naira)for towing as against N2,500 written at the back of the Ticket, and N7,000 (Seven Thousand)for obstruction as against the N5,000 written at the back for my offence.
Is somebody profiteering from this? or are we to believe that the officials are so un-educated they cannot read the fine as prescribed at the back of the receipt?
Another thing to note is the absence of signs prohibiting parking and marking an area as a tow zone, are they not towing vehicles indiscriminately without proper reasons and the least acceptable level of due process and decorum?
And lastly, in case you are disgruntled about this parastatals activities and intransigencies, where do we go for recourse?
Somebody should please address our grievances
Someone called the LASTMA office a while ago on my behalf and was given a different cost far much more than what was posted here.
Can you confirm if there's an updated list of fines so that we can know better?
Post a Comment