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.
Traffic congestion is often caused by a variety of factors, including street trading, indiscriminate parking, and passenger pickup and drop-off.
Okungbowa emphasized the significance of educating the public about the team’s existence in order to restore law and order during a sensitization tour throughout the city center with other team members.
“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.
“We have not yet started arresting offenders, but we have embarked on sensitisation to inform the public that the Edo State Government will no longer tolerate illegal street trading, indiscriminate parking, and passenger pickups that obstruct traffic.”
