Lawmaker Accuses Police Over Unlatched Containers

A Lagos lawmaker, Mr. Ipoola Omisore, has decried the reluctance of the police to enforce a resolution of the Lagos State House of Assembly banning the conveyance of unlatched containers on articulated vehicles.

Omisore told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Ikeja, that “people are dying daily in avoidable accidents” caused by unlatched and falling containers.

The lawmaker, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Security and Strategy, who moved the motion on unlatched containers twice in 2010, said the resolutions of the Assembly were not being enforced by the Police.

“Interestingly, in this part of the world, motions are taken as advisory; at times, they are not enforceable and when you look at that motion, those to really enforce are primarily the Nigerian Police and they have not done anything and I am not glad. I hope before the end of the sixth Assembly, I would raise that issue again,” he said.

Omisore lamented that some articulated vehicles latched their containers but exceed the haulage capacity and often risked falling on other road users when negotiating bends or when confronted with bad road portions.

“Whether there is a law or not, a dangerous vehicle with haulage can be arrested by the Police. I think it is the will power of the Police that is lacking and we don’t have power over the Police,” he added.

Omisore explained that the Assembly would take more proactive measures by seeking the support of the Inspector General of Police, other traffic agencies and stakeholders, to reduce accidents.

He said that the Assembly would also lobby federal lawmakers to raise the issue at the national level to ensure the Police began enforcement of traffic laws and resolutions nationwide.

He added that the Assembly was planning to do an impact assessment of all the previous laws it had passed to upgrade the ones that were obsolete.