THE Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has warned against the unapproved use of the agency’s uniform by skits and filmmakers.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Bolaji Oreagba, in a statement released on Friday, August 11 and signed by the Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, Adebayo Taofiq, warned against the unauthorised use of its uniforms in movies and comedy skits.
LASTMA stated that using its uniforms, Kits, and other accoutrements by film and skit without approval is illegal.
According to the statement, LASTMA disapproved of the degrading way the movie and skit creators portrayed LASTMA institutions in their productions.
The agency noted that it violates Section 79 of the Lagos State Criminal Law 2015 and termed the unauthorised use of official clothing as a criminal conduct.
Oreagba cautioned film or skit makers who portray themselves as LASTMA officers “without applying for, and being duly issued a permit letter for such portrayals, to desist with immediate effect or face the full wrath of the Law.”
He claimed that the complete LASTMA outfit worn by a woman in the Yoruba film “Gbogbo Lowo” was an example of how the uniforms should not have been worn.
Therefore, Oreagba urged for rules governing the ownership of LASTMA uniforms.
He pleaded with the National Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) and other connected groups to alert their members of the possibility of prosecution for anyone found utilising LASTMA Uniform without a valid permit.
The ICIR reported in July 2022 that the former Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, ordered the arrest and prosecution of skit and movie makers who use the police uniform without approval.
The order was in a statement issued by Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO) Olumuyiwa Adejobi.
The statement explained that skits and filmmakers had not been stopped from using the police uniform to act. However, they must get permission from the force’s Public Relations Officer, with the desire to promote the Nigerian police much more positively.
The statement also denounced dealers selling police equipment and supplies illegally in stores and open establishments not authorised or recognised by the police authority.
According to the statement, the IGP also disapproved of the “demeaning manner in which movie and skit producers portray the police institution in their films and skits, using the police uniform without reference to Section 251 of the Criminal Code law or Section 133 of the Penal Code law, which criminalises such unauthorised use and accompanying necessary sanctions.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance