David Oluchukwu, a fictitious employee of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, was sentenced to four months in prison on Monday by the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offenses Mobile Court in Bolade, Oshodi, for impersonating and extorting the public, particularly commercial bus drivers.
Oluchukwu was charged with two counts relating to conduct likely to cause a breach of peace and impersonation, according to Taofiq Adebayo, Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, LASTMA, who confirmed the development in a statement on Tuesday. Adebayo added that after pleading guilty, Oluchukwu was sentenced without the option of a fine.
In his statement, he stated, “On Monday, December 19, 2022, the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offenses Mobile Court sitting in Bolade, Oshodi sentenced an arrested fake LASTMA officer, David Oluchukwu, to a four-month jail term for impersonating and extorting money from motorists, particularly commercial bus drivers in Lagos.
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority “arrested the convicted phony LASTMA officer on two counts of behavior likely to cause breach of peace” and “impersonation” before the court.
Both of the charges brought against the defendant violated Sections 168 (D) and 78 of the Lagos State Criminal Law (2015), according to the prosecutor, Agbaje Oladotun.
“Oluchukwu pleaded ‘guilty’ to the two counts brought against him, and magistrate Adesanya Ademola sentenced him to a four-month jail term without the possibility of a fine.
Because of the seriousness of the offenses, Magistrate Adesanya “emphasized that the prisoner should serve the four months in jail without any choice fine,” according to Adebayo.
Bolaji Oreagba, General Manager of LASTMA, responded to the verdict by saying it was a welcome development because it would serve as a deterrence to others who were still using false pretenses to extort money from innocent members of the public.
According to a report by Oreagba, “Our Surveillance and Intelligence Unit, which has now been fully reorganized, would continue to hunt for additional bad individuals upsetting the tranquility of the country.”
Adebayo said that Oreagba advised drivers, in particular those operating commercial buses, to rigorously abide by the requirements of the 2018 Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law.Following his arrest in the state’s Lekki neighborhood, Oluchukwu reportedly admitted that he had been making N40,000 per day from the illegal transportation business.
