On October 16 2008, I was going from our office to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Centre in Ikeja to collect my NBA payments receipts and those of a senior colleague. When I got to Olowu Street, an open pick-up vehicle, with the plate number LAGOS XM 856 KTU, was reversing towards my car as it (the pick-up) was trying to come out of a complex in the front of which it had parked before. I blew my horn, but still the accident that I was trying to forestall happened as the man hit and damaged my car. In line with my principle that is against the common attitude of some people to remain at the spot of minor accidents in which the erring/other parties have damaged their vehicles ( but I have always maintained that this is unjust and immoral), I drove forward and past the pick-up vehicle so that it was now behind me (whereas it was at the right side of my front when the accident happened) while the pick-up vehicle too still reversed further backward. Both of us parked neatly off the road traffic lane. (This is even evident from the picture that the LASTMA team leader took at the scene with his camera phone.) I was alone in my car, while the pick-up vehicle had its driver and its apparent owner inside it. The man who caused the accident, his apparent boss and I accordingly alighted and started discussing the accident beside my car and how the pick-up people, who admitted being at fault, would rectify the damage they did to my car.
We were at the scene without causing any traffic hold-up whatsoever and howsoever, when a team of Lagos State Traffic Maintenance Agency (LASTMA) came. Among them were the apparent team leader, Jimoh Babatunde, who was in LASTMA uniform, at least two policemen and other people in mufti. They approached my car which was nearer to the direction from which they came and said they were going to impound it for 'illegal parking'. I pleaded with them not to impound it on the ground that what happened was a case of accident, told them that I was ready to immediately drive my vehicle away without further asking for any remedy from the pick-up people who, by the accident, damaged it, pointed to the other vehicle involved in the accident behind mine and showed them the clear impact of the accident on my car. Still they would not budge. Without ever conceding that I committed 'illegal parking', I resorted to begging them not to tow my vehicle because of the urgent missions that I was pursuing. To my shock and to the shock of on-Iookers and passers-by, they still said they would tow my car. Jomoh Bamidele then began to swear that he must tow the car. He later told me pointblank that he would not mind the consequence because, according to him, "even though I (Babatunde) am not a lawyer, I myself am a graduate like you and my wife also is a lawyer". (He made this arrogant statement, which smacks of abuse of office, because he discovered from the NBA/lawyer's sticker pasted on my car's front windscreen that I am a lawyer.) Many
onlookers and passers-by also intervened and told Jimoh Bamidele to leave me alone and explained to him and his team members that it would be unlawful, unjust, immoral and ungodly for them to impound the vehicle of a man whose vehicle had been damaged and who was not causing any obstruction. But the gun-wielding policemen in the team threatened the onlookers and passers-by and asked them to leave the scene, explaining that nothing concerned them in the matter. Some of the
onlookers and passers-by are still ready to testify to the truthfulness of all these facts.
After Jimoh Babatunde had repeatedly sworn, touching the ground with his fingers while swearing, that nothing would prevent him from impounding my vehicle, I said if they would impound the vehicle of a man that was damaged, what would then happen to that one that damaged mine. They replied and wondered whether I was the person who would be teaching them their Job because I was a lawyer. (All along I had seen some of their team members chatting with the apparent owner of the pick- up vehicle; I wondered whether bribe was exchanging hands.) They further responded by asking the pick-up people to go scot-free. All my pleas that they should allow me to drive my car to their office were rebuffed, as they rather preferred that I should suffer the payment of towing fee. Despite appeals by on-lookers and passers-by, they also forcefully prevented me from removing the money that they themselves later discovered at their office that I had in the car.
We were at the scene without causing any traffic hold-up whatsoever and howsoever, when a team of Lagos State Traffic Maintenance Agency (LASTMA) came. Among them were the apparent team leader, Jimoh Babatunde, who was in LASTMA uniform, at least two policemen and other people in mufti. They approached my car which was nearer to the direction from which they came and said they were going to impound it for 'illegal parking'. I pleaded with them not to impound it on the ground that what happened was a case of accident, told them that I was ready to immediately drive my vehicle away without further asking for any remedy from the pick-up people who, by the accident, damaged it, pointed to the other vehicle involved in the accident behind mine and showed them the clear impact of the accident on my car. Still they would not budge. Without ever conceding that I committed 'illegal parking', I resorted to begging them not to tow my vehicle because of the urgent missions that I was pursuing. To my shock and to the shock of on-Iookers and passers-by, they still said they would tow my car. Jomoh Bamidele then began to swear that he must tow the car. He later told me pointblank that he would not mind the consequence because, according to him, "even though I (Babatunde) am not a lawyer, I myself am a graduate like you and my wife also is a lawyer". (He made this arrogant statement, which smacks of abuse of office, because he discovered from the NBA/lawyer's sticker pasted on my car's front windscreen that I am a lawyer.) Many
onlookers and passers-by also intervened and told Jimoh Bamidele to leave me alone and explained to him and his team members that it would be unlawful, unjust, immoral and ungodly for them to impound the vehicle of a man whose vehicle had been damaged and who was not causing any obstruction. But the gun-wielding policemen in the team threatened the onlookers and passers-by and asked them to leave the scene, explaining that nothing concerned them in the matter. Some of the
onlookers and passers-by are still ready to testify to the truthfulness of all these facts.
After Jimoh Babatunde had repeatedly sworn, touching the ground with his fingers while swearing, that nothing would prevent him from impounding my vehicle, I said if they would impound the vehicle of a man that was damaged, what would then happen to that one that damaged mine. They replied and wondered whether I was the person who would be teaching them their Job because I was a lawyer. (All along I had seen some of their team members chatting with the apparent owner of the pick- up vehicle; I wondered whether bribe was exchanging hands.) They further responded by asking the pick-up people to go scot-free. All my pleas that they should allow me to drive my car to their office were rebuffed, as they rather preferred that I should suffer the payment of towing fee. Despite appeals by on-lookers and passers-by, they also forcefully prevented me from removing the money that they themselves later discovered at their office that I had in the car.
At last, the LASTMA team towed my car with a small, old towing van. As they were leaving, one of the gun-wielding policemen in the team further abused, threatened and assaulted me. The assault was condemned in loud voices by on-lookers and passers-by. On of the passers-by reminded me to run and write the plate number of the towing van. This I did and the number was LAGOS NX 579 KJA.
I later went by a commercial motorcycle to the LASTMA Car Park at Alausa, Ikeja, where I saw my car parked. At the office, one man, O. Odunuga in LASTMA uniform asked me to come and collect fine ticket which totalled -N-60,000:00 (sixty thousand naira N 60,000:00 as fine and =N=10,000:00 as towing charge. I later asked Odunuga why I should pay such high fees. He replied that the 'illegal parking' fine was =N=50,000:00 while any vehicle towed with any of the heavy duty towing vans newly purchased by the State government attracts =N-10,000:00. He admitted the wrongfulness of the =N=10,000:00 towing charge written for me when I told him that my car was toed by a rickety, old towing van but replied that there was nothing he could do since "once ticket is written, it is written". I refused to take the ticket.
I proceeded to the NBA office to report this illegal impoundment, assault, imposition of illegal fees and flagrant abuse of office. Immediately, a team of about five NBA leaders went with me to the LASTMA Car Park.
There, Odunuga told them that ticket had been written and there was nothing he could do again; he advised us to write the Special Assistant (SA) to the State Governor on LASTMA for his intervention. He also told us that I had to take the fine ticket because it had to be attached to the letter to the SA and he gave the NBA team the SA's phone number. So we left after I had taken the fine ticket,
Accordingly, NBA wrote a petition to the LASTMA authority at Oshodi through the SA, demanding the stoppage of the above-stated acts and the release of my car soonest. My car was however continued to be kept in the LASTMA Car Park in the name of 'investigation' into the NBA petition as the letter was moved from the SA's office to that of the LASTMA's Head of Traffic Management and Survey Department (TMSD), Mr. 0. M. Ajayi, then back to the SA's office and finally to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)—all at the LASTMA Headquarters at Oshodi. In the course of the 'investigation', the Jimoh Babatunde showed a picture of my car that he took with a camera phone at the place where they towed my car. I explained to the Head of Traffic Management and Survey Department who was doing the 'investigation' that the picture confirmed my case as it had inside it and behind my car the picture of the pick-up vehicle that caused the accident and damaged my car. But shocking, he said he did not believe that that the pick-up vehicle was the one involved in the accident. Yet he did not go ahead to go to any motor hide authority to confirm. On the assault committed against me by LASTMA through Adekunle Babatunde, he refused to call him to his office to heal from him, even whsn Jimoh Bamidele told him that he (Adekunie Babatunde) was in the premises. He rather preffered to ask him on phone, on which he denied the assault. As the 'investigation' was dragging on and taking days, I asked the TMSD Head what would happen to me on the issue of demurrage which I also heard that LASTMA
collects. He replied that demurrage does not apply during the time that matters were being investigated by them at the Headquarters.
In the course of the 'investigation', Jimoh Bamidele titled Alpha and their overall head at the Alausa Office, E. A. Oki titled Zebra, proceeded to unlawfully and maliciously dismantle and damage my car by removing its four tyres and carting away the tyres and some of their nuts. I was later told that the unnecessary dismantling of the car was done by Zebra and Alpha because NBA dared write a petition.
Apparently agreeing that the impoundment, assault, fines and denial of the use of my vehicle was wrongful, immoral and illegal, the LASTMA authority on November 4, 2008 slashed the fines to =N=7,500:00 =N=5000:00 as fine and -N==2500:00 as towing charge. The total fine would probably have been wiped out but for LASTMA's usual practice not to let slip any precious opportunity by LASTMA to collect revenue by hook or crook/or the State government.
By November 11, 2008, I paid the said -N-5000:00 Tine' and =N==2,500:00 towing charge (both receipted). Both were collected from me by one Mrs. Musa at the LASTMA Car Park at Alausa. This same Mrs. Musa also forced me to pay an unreceipted =N=500:00 as gate pass fee, which pass paper did not reflect the =N=500:00. My explanation that the TMSD Head at the Headquarters said that I would not pay any demurrage was rejected and I was compelled to pay a receipted
demurrage of =N=8000:00 by another woman. This brings all the ungodly amounts that LASTMA forced me to pay to =N^16,000:00.
After all said and done, I told Mrs. Musa that they should release my tyres to me since I had after all paid all the money they imposed. She said I should ask the LASTMA people monitoring the Car Park gate. The gate people said I should go back to the office to ask them. Later Mrs. Musa asked me to ask the vulcaniser. But the vulcaniser said he knew nothing about them and asked me to ask Zebra- Later, Mrs. Musa said Zebra and Alpha removed them. Afterward, somebody told me confidentially that I should keep asking Zebra since he was the one who does not want to surrender them. When I asked him, he said: "Even though you have satisfied all the necessary conditions and paid .the required fees, as for me o, I have not cleared you. You people went to write petition. And you went to court". (Yet nobody had gone to court and no court paper had been served on them. Thereafter, I told a LASTMA official my ordeal and he told me: "At this stage o, you don't need to beg him (Zebra) or
anybody; after all, you have paid all the fees they asked you to pay. Call Mr. Ajayi at the Headquarters".
When I called Mr. Ajayi his number did not go through. So I called one of the NBA executive members who said I should give my phone to Zebra Oki so that he might speak with him. Oki only released the tyres of my car after the said NBA leader had threatened him with the institution of the criminal charge of stealing the tyres against him if he did not release the tyres within 30 minutes. Till today, LASTMA's Zebra Oki has refused to release two nuts (valued at =N=300:00) of the tyres.
I later successfully called the TMSD Head, Mr. Ajayi, and told him about my ordeal in the hands of Zebra E. A. Oki, whom he condemned in strong terms. I equally told him that they still compelled me to pay demurrage at the Alausa office. He equally condemned the taking of the so-called demurrage in strong terms and said I should, instead of paying it, have come to report to the CEO at Oshodi. But I reasoned that that might still have taken weeks again to be conclusively attended to.
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