Court jails driver for allegedly killing LASTMA officer in Lagos

A commercial bus driver, Elijah Shokoya, was on Wednesday jailed by a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja for allegedly killing an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).

Top Naija had reported that the LASTMA officer, Olawale Akinmade, died on Wednesday, January 27, 2021, after he was knocked down by a blue and black Opel space bus with number plate AAA 74 GG, which Shokoya drove.

Akinmade was knocked down at Demurin Street junction within Mile 12, Lagos while controlling traffic, and suffered injuries to his head and body.

Shokoya was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter before Justice Oyindamola Ogala and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The offence is stated to violate Section 224 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, and is punishable under Section 229 of the same law.

Subsequent to his appeal, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Olayinka Adeyemi, requested the court for a trial date and asked that the defendant be jailed in a correctional facility.

The defence counsel from the African Women Lawyers Association, Abiodun Kolawale, implored the court for a short adjournment to present Shokoya’s bail application.

Justice Ogala ordered Shokoya’s imprisonment in a correctional centre and adjourned the matter till July 14 for trial.