An official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has suffered injuries to his fingers thanks to a violent commercial bus driver who stabbed him with a broken bottle in Ojota area of the state.
The driver is pictured above alongside his vehicle, a painted Caravelle GL Volkswagen commercial bus with registration number EKY 693 YK.
LASTMA in a statement on the matter said the vehicle was intercepted along the Ojota–Ketu corridor
for violating traffic regulations.
The traffic offence, the agency said, bordered on leaving the vehicle’s passenger door open while fully loaded with commuters.
The official report has it that the driver resisted arrest upon interception on the main carriageway and attempted to escape by mounting the median in a bid to flee.
However, the escape attempt hit a hitch following the development of a mechanical fault by the vehicle and the attendant immobilisation.
According to the report, frustrated by the failed escape, the driver allegedly turned violent, grabbed a broken bottle from inside the bus and attacked the enforcement officers, stabbing one of them in the fingers of his right hand.
The attack resulted in severe fractures and significant blood loss before the suspect fled the scene.
The Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, Mr Adebayo Taofiq, said the vehicle was immediately impounded in line with statutory provisions, while the injured officer was rushed to a medical facility for treatment.
He said the officer underwent emergency surgery and, due to the severity of the fractures sustained, two fingers required immediate operative reconstruction.
“He remains under close medical observation and is receiving comprehensive care,” Taofiq said.
