TRAFFIC LAWS: LAGOS CLARIFIES ON ENFORCEMENT,SAYS NUMBER-PLATE REMOVAL IS PREFERRED TO TOWING OF VEHICLES.{READ}.

                                                          The Lagos State Government today monday has defended the enforcement method of its Special Offences Task Force which favours the removal of number plates of erring vehicles over clamping down and towing of vehicles.The government also denied allegations of highnandedness against officials of the Task Force and those of the Special Offences Tribunal {Mobile Court},describing the coterie of complainants on social media as hypocritical and manipulative.In a statement jointly issued by the State's Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice,Mr Adeniji Kazeem an the Commissioner for Information and Strategy,Mr Steve Ayorinde,the State government said it was within the purview of the traffic law enforcement officer to identify violators of traffic laws and have them booked and tried according to the peculiarities of their offences without having to clamp their tires or tow the vehicles.The new method being adopted by the Task Force,particularly for illegal parking of vehicles or obstruction of traffic,according to the statement,simply involves capturing the offence on video,removing the number plate of the erring vehicles and putting a branded sticker on the windshield of the car to inform the owner/driver of such cars about their offence and invitation for trial at the Special Offences Mobile Court which may sitting at any proximate local Government office or at the Special Task office at Alausa in Ikeja.It added that the Task Force is authorized under the Lagos State Road Traffic Law of 2012 as well as the Special Offences Court established by the Special Offences Court Law Cap S8 Laws of Lagos State 2015.The statement said ''The technique that has been adopted by the Task Force is in line with International Best Practices which prefers issuance of tickets to erring offenders over clamp downs or towing of vehicles that do not only cost both the government and erring drivers money but also clogs public spaces where such vehicles would have been kept''.It added that once the offender honours the invitation for trial,where a magistrate presides over the proceedings,the offender is usually presented with a video evidence of the offence before he or she is charged.A fine or a community service is then imposed if the offender pleads guilty.But if the offender chooses to put up a defence and is without a defence counsel,he or she will be entitled to the services of a lawyer from the Office of the Public Defender at no cost.More photos below.