• Road warriors

    Road warriors

    The traffic police in the Nigerian state of Lagos are tapping into technology to improve safety on the roads.

    ITWeb Africa reports that the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority’s (Lastma) high-tech solutions include surveillance drones, GPS-enabled patrol vehicles and automatic incident detection software. These are all monitored from a central command and control centre.

    According to Lastma GM Olalekan Bakare-Oki, body cameras, mobile data terminals and toll-free hotlines feed into the unified operations hub, which offers real-time visibility of traffic situations across the state.

    Once an accident or breakdown is detected and verified by digital surveillance, the data-driven platform immediately co-ordinates the response, dispatching responders to the scene via GPS data.

    Lastma says response times are quicker and more accurate, reducing road accident clearance times and better co-ordination with medical services.

    The agency’s 2025 operational summary noted that its personnel rescued 1 075 people from accident scenes and impounded 17 169 vehicles for various traffic violations reported across Lagos through its toll-free hotline.

    10 March 2026
    Image: Pexels