Jakumo: A good lawyer will establish that the motorist ran over that individual either out of fear that the road-block had been set up by robbers, as a result of mechanical failure in the speeding vehicle's brakes and or steering, or due to instinctual evasive driving caused by the sudden appearance of an unexpected road-block erected at an unsafe location.

Future Nigerian President Fashola must, in his capacity as Lagos State governor, emulate other industrialized nations of the Western world by assigning all traffic law enforcement duties to municipal officers whose duties are limited to the issuance of traffic citations payable in the court of jurisdiction applicable to the location where the offence was alleged to have occurred.

Every legally registered vehicle that plies Nigerian roads is owned by an individual or corporation of KNOWN identity and street address. Within all cities, parking violation notice tickets can be taped to the front windows of short-term parking offenders, while the tow-truck removal of abandoned vehicles should be a matter of routine, in the interests of public safety. Nigeria is a tense enough country as it is without Lagos motorists having to also contend with the possibility being targeted for extortion and vehicle impoundment over often imaginary offences.

What should NOT occur, in any metropolis that hopes to retain civil order on the streets, is for groups of hungry-looking “officials” to loiter in ambush for motorists in the exact same way as do car-jacking bandits, poised to wrestle doors open and leap un-invited into the cars of unsuspecting road-users who then face an array of equally unpleasant options ranging from being forced to head towards “the office” for vehicle impound, to laboriously negotiating bribes demanded for leniency, to getting in fist-fights and trying to kick the uninvited hitchhikers out the car door so as to flee the scene.

Governor Fashola, PLEASE disband that gang of extortionists and road-side banditos, known in Lagos Nigeria as LASTMA, (which stands for : Lay Ambush, Stalk, Trap, Manhandle and Aggravate). Remove those disruptive LASTMA chimpanzees from the streets of Lagos, and re-engage them as municipal sewage disposal engineers for the city, since their services would be better appreciated there by all who have ever encountered them. Reckless driving pursuits are the job of the POLICE. All other traffic offenses must be handled in a way that does not violate the right of citizens to freedom of movement and due process of law for those accused of traffic offences.

ebamma: i have now belief that saying that what a man can do a woman will do better,mrs yinka kirikiri prisons await you,the dead lastma is now controlling traffic in hell

deenee: We seem to have thrown away our sense of moral decency! There is no correlation between the law and the incident at hand! Why did she drive against traffic in the first place? Agreed there is a lot of gridlock along the Lekki Ajah axis but trust me life would be pretty much easier for a lot of the road users if people just obey the traffic rules without jumping from one lane to another or driving in the opposite direction on a one way lane!

If we read the full story she absconded and drove into an estate around Ikota and it took the intervention of the police authorities before she was caught!

If she is sure that she didn't commit the offense why did she run in the first place and somebody here is posting that she is the mother of a two month old baby! What about the official that lost his life? Is he not also father to some children and somebody's husband?

She should face the FULL wrath of the law and be laid off from her job to serve as a deterrent to others!

Integrity is doing what is right because it is right and not because it is expedient!Can she try this kind of road stunt in the West? The answer of course is NO!

mejai: let's be real. Even if she wasn't d one dat hit d lastma man, life is in invovled here. A case of being at d wrong place at d wrong tym. Why goin against d traffic in d first place? Was her house on fire? Or was she informed dat d husband was sleeping wit d maid? Funny how realities set in after our wrong doing. When satan is at work u will know. I stay @ vgc, d rate most drivers make a u-turn b4 d designated junction is alarming. She has committed an offence & why would she run 2 her house(not policestation o) & d estate security even refused openin d gate. No road in lagos is traffic-free, makeup ur mind & stay in dat traffic or u buy okada, use bus. Now, 'had i known' will becloud her conscience. Pls lastma men r humans like us. 50,000 naira(at worse) is cheaper dan killin a soul & spendin more dan dat 2 get fair judgement, yet, jail waits 4 u.

gidig: Guys! its good to get facts right. For some reason, LASTMA is using this news as PR for their new traffic law,when this is not what exactly happened.. She was arrested alright for driving in the wrong lane but it was a Danfo that knocked down and killed the LASTMA officer. Her vehicle does not even have a single dent. I have spoken to the person the person this morning. Newspaper houses like punch should be sued for carrying news report that is not verified.

mko abiola: Dear All, I am sure we have all heard the story going round about the Banker who allegedly killed a lastma official by knocking him down with her car.

Eye witnesses on the scene insist that the lastma official was infact knocked down by a danfo bus he was trying to accost AFTER he arrested the Banker for a traffic offence. In fact, her car was about being towed as can be seen from the picture on the lastma website. Lastma is trying to skew the story as murder and she is currently in detention.

Please note that I have seen her car and it doesn't have a single dent on it. Kindly spread the word and encourage eye witnesses to come forward and give statements at Panti.

She is a mother of 3 (including a 2mth old baby who is with her in detention). Please note that the incident with the Banker, Yinka Johnson and the Latsma Official happened yesterday 10/08/2012 at Ikota, Lekki Express Way. Please call 08037076890 if you have information. It could be anyone

serty1: the mother of 3 here wont hurt a fly, have known her all my life.......but justice will prevail.........we dont need to trade blames .......she isnt guilty until proven,,,,,,,but i saw her and spoke with her.....its so pathetic with a 2 month old baby in dat horrific panti because the officers just wanted to get back cos of the death of there colleague caused by a danfo driver........it is well

josh4ever:

Pls spare us this rubbish! Why would they want to arrest a woman if indeed a Danfo was the culprit? Pls note the Danfo incident took place few weeks ago and NOT yesterday as claimed so don't insult our sensibilities! If you've seen the vehicle, pls give us pics to verify ur story

lucabrasi:
were you there?
besides while remonstrating for your friend a man is laying lifeless in the mortuary while your friend can still lift her arms and legs and still feed her 2 month old.
she can't hurt a fly but she has managed to send a fully grown man to heaven because she couldn't be bothered to face the consequences of her actions,does she or can she drive that way whenever she travels out of the country?
laws are made for a reason,they might not be pleasant but they are meant to be obeyed.
a friend of mine here who just pushed a traffic officer with his car by maybe 2 inches got charged for assault with a deadly weapon as well as other charges
while praying that the man's family have the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss,i am also praying that your friend will suffer the full consequences of her actions both here on earth and if she manages to press buttons she will suffer it in the thereafter.
if she is like you have described her,the best thing she can do is to own up to the truth,explain how she panicked and her conscience will be clear

josh4ever:

Pls spare us this rubbish! Why would they want to arrest a woman if indeed a Danfo was the culprit? Pls note the Danfo incident took place few weeks ago and NOT yesterday as claimed so don't insult our sensibilities! If you've seen the vehicle, pls give us pics to verify ur story

deenee: "Yinka cannot hurt a fly" Yeah right! Spare me the rhetorics! But she can drive against busy traffic in a one way lane endangering the lives of other motorists in the process!

I am highly disappointed in the comments herein! Makes me wonder how people process information. No wonder we cannot move forward as a country. Anytime, I am in the country and stuck in traffic, I always feel the urge to prove that I am a "Lagosian by doing the needful" but I am equally reminded that such acts of irresponsible display could put others and myself in harm's way!

Why would a civilized mother of three children drive against traffic in the first place?

She should face the FULL wrath of the law without compromise!

To all the Yinka Johnson apologists championing her cause, would you still sing the same song if the victim was a relative, friend, husband, wife or colleague? We don't have regard for human life at all. So because it is a LASTMA official it does not matter!

May God help us all!

jerseyboy: The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.
Abraham Lincoln

omosexy1: So what is this suppose to mean? Then why did she flee the scene of incident if her vehicle was stationary and not moving? If she was driving recklessly and they were trying to catch up with her and in the process, the LASTMA officer was hit by a bus, she is then responsible for the death of the LASTMA officer. Actually, that is what driving against traffic (one way) leads to. Because you must be insane to be driving against traffic. It is a suicide mission and also endangers the lives of other drivers. While I still feel sorry for her and her family, I consider that she must be literate enough to know that she had committed an offense/crime, stay cool and get the booking. Rather than flee the crime scene. Running away from a crime scene would only get you to commit another crime. Her actions led to the death of the LASTMA officers whether is was her vehicle or some other person's vehicle.

We all need to be careful, respect traffic rules and learn from this.