Two traffic officers and a policeman lost their lives in Apapa, Lagos since the Federal Government commenced an initiative to restore smooth traffic in the area.

Executive Vice-Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Apapa Restoration of Law and Order in Apapa, Mr Kayode Opeifa, made the disclosure on Tuesday when he paid a courtesy visit to the Lagos Office of the News Agency of Nigeria.

He said several people, including himself, had at one time or the other sustained injuries in the course of trying to bring sanity to Apapa, which had been on traffic lockdown over the years.

Opeifa said,

“It is not good to announce it but we have recorded fatalities. I am afraid of saying it because it will always be on the headlines.

“I am also a victim of an accident in the course of discharging my duties and I was lucky to escape with a damaged vehicle.

“The first day we started the restoration of law and order, we lost a LASTMA officer by accident. A truck was reversing and the LASTMA lady was behind.

“Recently, we lost another LASTMA officer, who was stoned to death. We also lost a police officer, who was crushed. We have several people that were hit, including myself.

“My vehicle was hit but thank God nobody died. The vehicle was almost a write-off.

“This type of development happens continuously. There were very terrible ones where people were losing limbs and losing their hands.”

On the number of people arrested in the course of the restoration, Opeifa said he had lost count, disclosing, however, that over 120 traffic violators were arrested on the first day of the operation.

(NAN)