Edo to introduce mobile court for traffic offenders

Kelly Okungbowa, the coordinator of the Edo State Public Response Safety Team, declared Thursday that the state will soon have a mobile court to try traffic offenders.

He said that since Governor Monday Okpehbolo has ordered that no one be sent to prison at this time, those found guilty will first be required to perform community service.

After the governor established the safety team to solve the regular traffic jams, especially in and around King Square, Benin City, and other busy crossroads, Okungbowa made this public.

Among other things, indiscriminate parking, passenger pickup and drop-off, and street trading are frequently the causes of the traffic jams.
While on a city centre sensitisation trip with other team members, Okungbowa stressed the significance of informing the public about the team’s existence to restore law and order.

“We are here to clear Ring Road and all the streets around King Square of illegal street trading and wrongful parking, which lead to traffic gridlock around the city centre.

“The governor has introduced the Public Response Safety Team, and our role is to clear the city centre and ensure that traders on the streets and walkways, market women, and drivers who park or trade indiscriminately are held accountable to ensure a free flow of traffic,” he said.

He further warned bus and taxi drivers, market women, street traders, and others who obstruct traffic to desist from such practices.
"Although we have not yet begun making arrests, we have started a public awareness campaign to let people know that the Edo State Government will no longer put up with unlawful street trading, careless parking, or passenger pickups that impede traffic."