Conductor Stabs LASTMA Officer With Screwdriver In Lagos
A commercial bus conductor, identified as Lekan Olasunkanmi, has allegedly stabbed an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) with a screwdriver during a traffic enforcement operation at Ile-Epo Market inward Abule-Egba along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
A statement issued on Monday, June 29, 2026, by LASTMA's Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, Adebayo Taofiq, confirmed that the suspect has been arrested and handed over to the police for investigation and possible prosecution.
The agency said the incident occurred after a LASTMA patrol team intercepted a Volkswagen commercial bus with registration number LSR 989 XG, alleging that the vehicle was obstructing traffic at the busy Ile-Epo Market corridor.
Taofiq stated that while LASTMA officers were carrying out enforcement duties aimed at restoring the free flow of traffic, the bus driver allegedly resisted the operation, leading to a confrontation.
The agency alleged that during the altercation, the conductor armed himself with a screwdriver and stabbed one of its officers.
“The vehicle's conductor, later identified as Mr. Lekan Olasunkanmi, armed himself with a screwdriver and violently attacked a LASTMA officer, inflicting a stab wound during the altercation,” Taofiq stated.
He said the injured officer was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where he received emergency treatment, and that he is responding positively to medical care.
Following the attack, Taofiq said the matter was reported to the Abattoir Police Division, while Olasunkanmi was taken into police custody.
Taofiq stated that the suspect admitted during preliminary police interrogation that he brought out the screwdriver and mistakenly stabbed the traffic officer during the confrontation.
Reacting to the incident, the General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, condemned what he described as a growing pattern of attacks on traffic management officials while carrying out their lawful duties.
He warned that the Lagos State Government would not tolerate violence against personnel responsible for enforcing traffic regulations.
"Anyone found attacking LASTMA personnel in the course of their lawful duties will face the full weight of the law,” Bakare-Oki said.
“Our officers are deployed across the State to facilitate seamless movement of people, goods and services, as well as to ensure strict compliance with extant traffic regulations.
“Any act of violence against them constitutes an affront to public order and the rule of law and will not go unpunished."
The LASTMA boss also appealed to motorists, commercial transport operators and other road users to comply with the provisions of the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law, 2018, stressing that cooperation with traffic officials is essential to maintaining order on the state's roads.