72 commercial motorcycle operators arrested for plying illegal routes
Operatives of the Lagos State Task Force, in conjunction with officials of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), have arrested 72 commercial motorcycle riders, widely known in the state as okada, for allegedly plying routes not approved by the state government for commercial motorcycle operation. The government officials also impounded 196 motorcycles during the […]
Operatives of the Lagos State Task Force, in conjunction with officials of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), have arrested 72 commercial motorcycle riders, widely known in the state as okada, for allegedly plying routes not approved by the state government for commercial motorcycle operation.
The government officials also impounded 196 motorcycles during the operation.
Eko Trust gathered that those arrested would soon be prosecuted at the Lagos Mobile Court, Oshodi, Lagos.
The enforcement operation was understood to have been done based on series of complaints from members of the public on criminal activities allegedly perpetrated by the motorcycle operators in the 2nd Rainbow, Festac and Mile 2 areas.
The task force and LAGESC officials said that their investigations revealed that criminal activities by the okada riders were truly on the increase, with many of them using their motorcycles to commit crimes like armed robbery and rape. They asserted that some motorcycle operators were actually members of different armed robbery gangs and disposed their victims of valuables such as phone, jewelries and bags.
The Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force, Superintendent of Police Olayinka Egbeyemi, who confirmed the arrest, disclosed that investigation had revealed that some of the okada riders in the Mile 2 axis were responsible for series of attacks on vehicles anytime there was a traffic hold-up, particularly at night on the Mile 2 bridge towards Festac.
Egbeyemi advised the innocent ones among the commercial motorcycle riders to weed out the criminals among them that he said had been hiding under the cover of the okada business to attack people.
He also advised the leadership of the okada unions to educate their members to stop plying any of the restricted 475 routes, which include highways and bridges across the state.
He enjoined private power bikes (capacity 200cc and above) owners/operators, particularly corporate bodies, to warn their despatch riders to stop engaging in illegal commercial activities as anyone caught violationg any section of the Lagos State Road Traffic Laws of 2012 would be prosecuted.
Egbeyemi confirmed that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, has directed that all those arrested during the operation should be immediately charged to court.
A resident of the Mile 2 area, who simply identified himself as Engineer Damilola Okanlawon, said majority of the motorcycle riders plying restricted routes could hardly communicate in English language, saying this was an indication that many of them were from neighbouring countries and had come to Lagos without any legitimate means of livelihood other than using their motorcycles to commit crime.