....Lagos reacts
....as Falana writes Sanwo-Olu, AG
Lagos based Lawyer and Human Right Activist, Femi Falana has sent letters of intervention on the alleged copyright infringement by the state Ministry of Transportation to Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Attorney-General, and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, demanding monetary compensation in the sum of N36 billion.
Falana and Falana Chambers had written the letters on behalf of its client, a Public Relations firm, Peach Studio Works Limited PSW, for breaching its piracy rights on a digital Traffic Management Solutions, TMS, Application, called,"Ojutiti Mobile Application" earlier presented to Lagos State Ministry and subsequently launched without the involvement of the firm.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of PSW, Mr. Oladapo Olawale, has threatened to drag the State Government to court after various means to reach amicable settlement failed.
The firm has therefore, demanded for monetary compensation in the sum of N36 billion which the state government was is yet to respond.
The current action followed earlier moves In April 2022, when Lagos State Government launched Traffic Management Solutions, TMS, to digitally process traffic violations and enforce compliance. At the time, only the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, officials could use it.
In July 2024, LASTMA opened up digital traffic management for citizen participation. The agency launched a whistleblower application that allows citizens capture and report traffic offences. The app also partly digitises traffic offence adjudication for the agency and the road user.
Considering the traffic situation in Lagos, deploying those technologies should be a beacon of hope for the average road user. But the process that led to this deployment has generated controversy.
In 2015, Olawale, the chief executive officer of Peach Studio Works, and his team developed Ojutiti, a traffic management solutions application with the same exact interface and functions as TMS and the whistleblower application.
Ojutiti was even copyrighted by Olawale and his team. He later presented the same application to the Lagos State Ministry of Transport.
After an engagement that spanned about two years, the ministry ceased correspondence, only to launch the TMS in 2022.
Following series of failed attempts to get the attention of the state government and Governor Sanwo-Olu towards amicable resolution, Olawale and his team, subsequently, engaged the services of Lagos based Lawyer and Human Right Activist, Femi Falana for legal services.
Funmi Falana, SAN, of the Falana and Falana Chambers, on March 13, 2024, on behalf of the client, sent a letter of request of intervention on the copyright infringement by the state Ministry of Transportation to Mr. Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, demanding for monetary compensation in the sum of N36 billion, which has not been attended to as of press time.
The letter read thus: "We are Solicitors to Peach Studio Works Limited PSW, (hereinafter referred to as "our client"). We have their instructions to write Your Excellency this letter on the above subject matter.
"Our client is a limited liability company registered under the Company and Allied Matters Act with its registered address at Plot 17, Block C, Peak Park Estate Phase 1, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State. Nigeria
"Our client proposed an ingenious traffic violation application borne out of the desire to improve traffic management to the Lagos State Government. The mobile application was built and launched in 2014 and named Ojutiti(On the Road).
"The application was designed to record and report traffic violations by citizens, using the video evidence as the basis for charging the registered vehicle owners.
"Our client received a letter for a presentation and demonstration on November 5, 2015. Our client attended the session as scheduled and presented to the Commissioner with high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Transportation.
"Consequently, the officials of the Ministry refused to give our client any further audience ever since the last letter they received on January 17, 2017. However, to our client's greatest surprise, they came across a publication in a national newspaper online on July l1, 2023 (nearly eight years after our client's presentation) on what was described as a Traffic Management Solution.
"It may interest Your Excellency to know that a review of the application showed that it bears strong similarities with the mobile application our client earlier presented.
"A further analysis shows that apart from the similarity in the method of capturing traffic offenders, the booking of offenders, and the ability to challenge offences and make payments were not different from what our client presented as the Ojutiti Traffic Violation Application in November 2015 to the Lagos State Government.
"Our client believes strongly that the Traffic Management Solution launched by the Lagos State Government is a replica of the Ojutiti Mobile application which they presented in November 2015. It is evident that the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation through its agency, LASTMA, has infringed on our client's rights by proceeding to launch the application without their consent first sought and obtained.
"Given the foregoing, we humbly urge Your Excellency to intervene by investigating the allegation raised in this letter as the projected revenue of our client for five years on this project is over N36,000,000,000.
"Kindly accept our assurances of the highest esteem, Your Excellency, as we await your timely intervention in the salient issues raised in this letter."
Falana also wrote to the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, calling for intervention.
The letter read in part: "The Hon. Attorney-General would recall that by our letter dated March 13, 2024, addressed to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Lagos State, we had raised certain salient issues with His Excellency.
"We have however to date received no formal response to our letter, notwithstanding your letter dated April 8, 2024, wherein you stated that our letter was receiving the required attention.
"Given the above, we are by this letter reminding you to urgently respond to our letter and address the issues raised therein to enable our client to determine what steps they would need to take in the circumstance."
Also, in a petition letter to the Director, Enforcement Nigeria Copy Right Commission, Oladeinde Fagbemi on August 24, 2023, Olawale maintained, "The Traffic Management Solution launched by the Lagos State Government is apparently a replication of the Ojutiti Mobile application which we presented in
"November 2015. We are disappointed that the LASG proceeded to implement what we shared in good faith with no recourse to us almost eight years after.
"This does not in any way represent what Lagos State stands for and will discourage homegrown solutions from being shared with the Government in the future.
"We had proposed a partnership with a revenue model that will empower thousands of youths across the State and we built engagement with them on social media in anticipation of the partnership.
"It is evident that the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation through its agency, LASTMA, has infringed on our rights by proceeding to launch an application we presented without our consent."
Meanwhile, worried by the unresponsiveness of the state government and the governor, Olawale told Vanguard that the organization would be left with no other option than to sue the state government and its agents over the alleged piracy infringement.
According to him, "All I want is progress and solutions. I presented this to them. But the reaction I have got is disappointing and pretty frustrating. This is my own story, my legitimate story. I have shared my experience as it happened without adding anything or removing anything from it.
"I have established that there was an infringement of my rights. There are limits to my legal knowledge, and that's why I've engaged a lawyer and a law firm of repute.
"Falana contacted the Lagos State Ministry of Transport, FIJ resent the same message, copying the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency, the general Lagos State email, and the Ministry of Justice. FIJ also reached out to Gboyega Akosile, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Media and Publicity. However, as of press time, none of them had responded."
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Plea for intervention
Olawale stated; "I would like to express our horror seeing that the TMS launched by LASTMA (whom we also presented to), is the exact same Ojutiti application we had earlier presented in 2015.
"The end-to-end features are the same and this has traumatized us as a business, as we have a copyright notification for the application and have built a strong following on social media in anticipation of a partnership with the Ministry.
"We are hereby appealing to Governor Sanwo-Olu for his immediate intervention to settle out of court because it is not our intention to embarrass the state government in any way whatsoever."
Meanwhile, effort to reach AG and Commissioner for Transportation and S.A to Governor on Media and Publicity, as of press time was unsuccessful as they were yet to reply to messages sent to them.
Lagos reacts
Reacting on-behalf of the state government, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Wale Musa, said, "We are aware of this claim because he has taken us to the Copyright Commission. We have made our presentation and submitted all requested documentation.
"Let it be known that we receive avalanche of proposals from many proponents, and we always have a listening ear for solutions in the interest of the public. In this instance, the accusation is that the consultant engaged by the state infringed on a Copyright.
"The consultant has also made a presentation to the Copyright Commission, and we currently await the decision of the Commission. The Lagos State Government believes in the rule of law and would never act to the detriment of the law or infringe on the right of the citizens."
Speaking on possibility of being sued, Musa stated, "We do not believe has a case against us because we did not bring the app. It's another company that brought the app and not Lagos State Government. Naturally he should be suing that company and not Lagos government."
