Lagos to Deploy 2,000 LASTMA Officers for Detty December Amid Rising Fatalities
The Lagos State Ministry of Transportation has outlined plans to deploy more than 2,000 officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) for the upcoming "Detty December" festivities. The announcement comes against the backdrop of rising road accidents and the loss of 22 agency personnel in 2025.
Speaking at the 2026 Media Parley in Lagos, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Olawale Musa, revealed that at least 22 LASTMA officers died in the line of duty last year. Musa noted that traffic management in the state remains a highly hazardous operation, often requiring officers to navigate volatile and challenging environments.
“LASTMA lost at least 22 staff last year. With the kind of society and people we are, there is no way one won’t have a crisis to manage. To manage a crisis is not an easy task, and that is why I must thank our information officers and press corps here. They have been very supportive,” Musa said.
LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, provided a comprehensive update on road safety, revealing that 17 people died on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, while another 15 lost their lives along the Otedola Bridge-Kara axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway between January and October 2026.
During this period, the agency responded to over 860 traffic-related incidents on the Coastal Road and more than 365 along the Otedola Bridge-Kara corridor.
“You cannot quantify human life,” Bakare-Oki said, emphasizing the human toll of these crashes.
He attributed the high incident rate to the sheer volume of vehicles, noting that Lagos has the highest vehicular density in West Africa, which places immense strain on the state’s limited landmass.
“If you look at Lagos, the geographical location of the state has placed it at a disadvantage in terms of landmass. Out of the total land space in the country, Lagos has less than one per cent, about 0.4 per cent, compared to vehicular intensity in the state,” he explained. “Our core responsibility is to ensure seamless mobility despite this limitation. Our concentration has been on the major crossing points, especially to reduce the damage on these roads.”
To address the persistent damage to key infrastructure, Bakare-Oki disclosed that federal and state authorities have begun a joint assessment of the Otedola Bridge corridor. The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos led a federal delegation, while the State Commissioner for Transportation led the state's team.
“This week, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos led a team from the federal side, while the Honourable Commissioner for Transport led the Lagos team to re-examine and evaluate the causes of this damage on our roads, and it’s not going to be limited to the Otedola Bridge. With time, there will be an arrangement,” he said.
Noting that LASTMA has evolved from a basic traffic control unit into a sophisticated institution focused on road safety advocacy, public engagement, and rapid response, Bakare-Oki outlined the agency's proactive measures for the holiday season.
To ease congestion during the annual "Detty December" celebrations, over 2,000 personnel will be deployed to high-traffic areas, including Victoria Island, Lekki-Ajah, Surulere, and Ikeja.
“We are deploying over 2,000 personnel to beef up these areas so that people can commute or move freely during the Detty December period,” he said.
Additionally, the agency has mobilized recovery vehicles to strategic locations across the state to ensure that broken-down vehicles and accident scenes are cleared promptly, minimizing disruptions.