According to a statement issued on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, by Mr. Adebayo Taofiq, Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, the suspects were among seven individuals arraigned on Tuesday before the Chief Magistrate of the Lagos State Mobile Court on four-count charges bordering on violent conduct and obstruction of lawful duties.
The Lagos State Mobile Courts have ordered the remand of six suspected miscreants over an alleged violent attack on officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and other government agencies during a midnight enforcement operation along Airport Road in Lagos.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, by Mr. Adebayo Taofiq, Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, the suspects were among seven individuals arraigned on Tuesday before the Chief Magistrate of the Lagos State Mobile Court on four-count charges bordering on violent conduct and obstruction of lawful duties.
As the court adjourned the case to February 19, 2026, for further hearing, one of the defendants who pleaded not guilty was admitted to bail, while the remaining six were remanded in custody.
Taofiq stated that the enforcement exercise, which took place in the early hours of Tuesday, December 23, was personally led by the General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki.
He said the exercise was carried out in collaboration with security operatives, the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) Corps, the Lagos State Task Force, and LASTMA field officers.
He said the operation followed a series of formal complaints from the Nigerian Airport Authority (NPA) over the persistent illegal occupation of its facilities by criminal syndicates and defiant commercial bus operators along the airport corridor.
“The operation was precipitated by an avalanche of formal complaints submitted by the Nigerian Airport Authority (NPA), lamenting the persistent and unlawful encroachment on its facilities by criminal syndicates and recalcitrant commercial bus operators operating in flagrant defiance of extant regulations,” Taofiq stated.
He said the NPA complained that the activities of the miscreants had become a serious public nuisance, with repeated reports of harassment, intimidation, and the dispossession of unsuspecting members of the public of their personal belongings.
“According to the Management of the Nigerian Airport Authority, the activities of these notorious miscreants and illegal operators had degenerated into a grave public nuisance and an unsightly blight on the airport corridor, with recurring reports of harassment, intimidation, and the dispossession of unsuspecting members of the public of their personal effects,” Taofiq stated.
He said that during the enforcement exercise, five officers of the joint task force were attacked with dangerous weapons.
In addition, one of the authority’s tow trucks was deliberately set on fire by the assailants in what officials described as a desperate attempt to disrupt the operation and challenge state authority.
He added, “During the lawful execution of the enforcement operation, five officers of the joint task force were viciously attacked with dangerous weapons, while one of the Authority’s tow trucks was deliberately set ablaze by the rampaging miscreants in a desperate attempt to sabotage the exercise and brazenly challenge the authority of the State.”
Despite the alleged attack, Taofiq stated that the enforcement team displayed professionalism and restraint while carrying out their duties under threat.
He said a total of 56 vehicles were impounded during the operation for various traffic and environmental infractions.
According to Taofiq, the vehicles included 44 commercial buses, five private cars, and seven trucks.
Speaking after the incident, Bakare-Oki reiterated the Lagos State Government’s commitment to protecting public infrastructure, ensuring road safety, and maintaining law and order across the metropolis.
He warned that the state would not succumb to intimidation or violence from criminal elements, stressing that all acts of lawlessness would be met with the full weight of the law.