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LATEST: Reactions As Lagos Govt Auctions Seized Vehicles

by Victor Ndubuisi
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This week, as the Lagos State government auctioned off seized vehicles, emotions were exposed.

At least 134 vehicles that had been seized for various traffic violations were on the market.

According to Anaedoonline.ng, while the practice went on, some families were reduced to tears and misery as they witnessed their source of income being auctioned off for a pittance.

The story of a 49-year-old widow named Dorothy Dike and her son Osinachi Ndukwe, who sobbed aloud while pleading for a price reduction, was more moving.

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It was a depressing sight to see because their lone car, which they had purchased on hired buy for N1.8 million, was sold at auction for N450,000. In fact, had it not been for their crying, it might have increased even more.

The fact that Osinachi had already served three years in prison for the identical traffic offense, during which he lost his child, makes the situation even more pitiful.

According to our journalist, Nigerians have been debating his case and a few others because they believe the law is too harsh on criminals.

In a statement on Thursday, the Taskforce spokeswoman, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, stated that the enforcement team had “auctioned 134 forfeited and abandoned automobiles at the Taskforce complex in Alausa, Ikeja” in coordination with the Lagos State Ministry of Justice.

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According to Abdulraheem, the vehicles were impounded for a variety of traffic violations, from traveling in the wrong direction to purposefully obstructing traffic in different locations of the State.

“(The) law was updated in 2020 to include outright forfeiture for driving one way,” Fawole Rotimi, a Nigerian lawyer based in the UK, told Newsmen.

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“I guess enforcement has finally started or finally caught the public’s attention.”

However, Rotimi insists that “the argument for me is that it is an unjust law.

“The punishment doesn’t fit the crime.”

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Ilemona Onoja, a lawyer based in Abuja, agreed.

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Onoja also feels this is likely to give the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, more power than necessary.

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“I think punishment should be commensurate with the crime. Three years imprisonment or forfeiture of the vehicle is in no way commensurate with the crime.

“It’s not enough to say it is the law. Laws can be bad – when they criminalize things which shouldn’t be criminalized and prescribe excessive punishment. The Lagos State traffic law is one such law that criminalizes things such as eating/smoking while driving and prescribes excessive punishments for crimes under it.

“There are already far too many accusations of high-handedness and collusion against LASTMA and the police to extort innocent drivers in Lagos. These sorts of things give them more power to act in draconian manners,” Onoja said.

 

Rotimi, however, made it clear that “you can always challenge it in court. Laws get challenged all the time. But until a court strikes it down, it is law.”

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Jubril Gawat, a media aide to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, sought to offer an explanation into the processes – including due process of the court of law – that lead to confiscation of vehicles and subsequent auctioning.

“The Coordinator of the Lagos State Special Offenses Mobile Court was present at the Auction venue; she said the exercise was seamless and well organised and also disclosed that all 134 vehicles on display had gone through due process of the COURT OF LAW before being forfeited,” Gawat tweeted on Thursday.

He claims that the purpose of the auction exercise is to deter the general population from committing crimes or traffic infractions because everyone would be punished if proven guilty. He expressed his hope that the practice would discourage other road users who enjoy driving against the flow of traffic.

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In a clear warning to motorists and other road users, Gawat also added: “Enforcement continues.”

 

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