1

A Lagos Magistrate Court has sentenced four men to jail for illegally collecting cash from passengers on buses regulated by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).

The convicts Aliyankhe Samuel, Ejikeme Nkendinma, Ajayi Oluwafemi, and Sakiru Ajani pleaded guilty to unauthorized cash collection, an act that contravenes LAMATA’s cashless policy aimed at sanitising public transport operations in Lagos.

Chief Magistrate F.J. Adefioye, who presided over the case, ruled that there was no justification for stealing government funds meant for the development of Lagos State.

Adefioye held that Samuel, in the Abule-Egba Magisterial District, unlawfully collected and converted LAMATA’s cash amounting to ₦16,200, property of the state government.

He was convicted on a three-count charge under Section 280(1)(a) and (2) of the Lagos Criminal Laws, 2015, and sentenced to five months’ imprisonment.

The three others, Nkendinma, Oluwafemi, and Ajani, were also found guilty of demanding and collecting unauthorised levies from passengers and diverting the money for personal use, each receiving similar sentences of five months’ imprisonment without an option of fine.

The trial magistrate expressed disappointment over the defendants’ actions, noting that their conduct undermines the state’s drive to generate internal revenue for development.

LAMATA’s Head of Corporate Communication, Kolawole Ojelabi, said the convictions reaffirm the agency’s determination to enforce the cashless policy across all its regulated bus services.

“This is part of our sustained effort to eliminate cash transactions and ensure accountability in the state’s transport system,” Ojelabi said.

LAMATA reiterated its commitment to sustaining the cashless policy and warned that anyone caught engaging in unauthorized cash collection on its regulated buses will face the full weight of the law.