Errant Colonel, Sergent fined for driving on BRT Lane

A colonel and a sergeant who were apprehended red-handed by Governor Babatunde Fashola for wrongfully driving on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lane have been punished for their offence. Colonel Kayode Yusuf and Staff Sergeant Aliu Adeomi were fined N25,000 by the Nigerian Army for violating the Lagos State Transport Route law on 17th July. The fine was spelt out by General Officer Commanding (GOC), 81 Division, Major-General Kenneth Minimah while instituting a court martial against 13 Army officers. “Col. Kayode Yusuf and Staff Sergeant Aliu Adeomi, caught by Governor Babatunde Fashola on 17th July for taking BRT lane, would pay the N25000 fine stipulated by the Lagos Traffic Law,” Minimah said. Yusuf, Adeomi, and 11 others were court-martialed for various offences ranging from murder to financial misappropriation. Minimah noted that the fine would serve as deterrent to other officers who carry themselves about in public places with impudence. He warned other soldiers to abide by the laws governing the state. “No army personnel should take the BRT lane because they are designated for buses. If we get it right, it is for our common good,” he said. “In this regard, we will continue to help the State Government in enforcing the law.” Yusuf and his law-breaking subordinate met their nemesis on Tuesday, 17th July in Lagos when they ran into Governor Fashola while driving in an Army green Peugeot 406 with registration number BO1– 150 NA and a black Toyota Camry respectively. The colonel immediately alighted from his car to meet Fashola, saluting, genuflecting and apologizing profusely. But his apologies did little to appease the governor, who was said to have upbraided the colonel, wondering why the “a senior military officer would break the law instead of preserving it. Our force self!!!!