The PUNCH reports that an officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has been killed.

The man was knockdown and killed by a motorist in the Mile 12 area of Ketu, Lagos.

This was disclosed by the General Manager LASTMA, Engr. Olajide Oduyoye, who gave the name of the officer as Samson Olawale Akinmade.

He said the officer died in the early hours of Wednesday, January 27, 2021, after he was knocked down by the motorist who drove a blue-black Opel Space Bus with registration number AAA 74 GG.

Oduyoye said Akinmade was knocked down at Demurin Street junction inwards Mile 12 while controlling traffic, leaving him with head and body injuries.

He said the officer died at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital where he was rushed after sustaining various degrees of injuries.

“This event is particularly sad because this was a young, intelligent and dedicated officer employed in the year 2019. He was very committed to his job but now he has been cut down in his prime by a careless and lawless driver, thereby depriving his family, the government agency, Lagos and Nigeria of a future leader in the making”, he said.

He said Akinmade who was directing yellow buses at the Demurin junction had approached the motorist and urged him to park away from the road to pick passengers.

“The driver assumed that he would be apprehended for obstructing traffic and sped off, knocking down the officer against the concrete culvert on the service lane and dragging him for about seven metres. He tried to escape through a street which turned out to be closed but was eventually arrested and handed over to the Police at Alapere along with his vehicle”, Oduyoye explained.

Oduyoye sympathised with the family of the deceased and called for the prosecution of the driver in accordance with the law.