Okada Ban: Lagos Police Impound 140 Motorcycles, Arrest 16 Passengers

As the Lagos State Government commenced the enforcement of the ban on the operation of motorcycle (okada) riders in the state, the State Police Command has seized 140 motorcycles and arrested 16 passengers and riders.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, who disclosed this, said 94 of the motorcycles were impounded by the police, while others were seized by men of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Enforcement Agency.
“There was over 90 per cent compliance, but some motorcyclists still came out and we arrested and charged them to a mobile court.
“Sixteen passengers and motorcyclists were arrested; the majority of the motorcyclists did not carry passengers and some of the motorcyclists abandoned their motorcycles after sighting policemen,” he explained.
The state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had on May 18, 2022, announced the ban on okada riders at a meeting with the state Commissioner of Police, Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers at the State House in Alausa.
The governor banned operations of motorcycles otherwise known as okada in six local government areas including Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Surulere, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, and Apapa areas of the state.
The ban, which took effect from Wednesday, June 1, followed the killing of a sound engineer, David Imoh, in the Lekki area of the state.
The Tide learnt that in Surulere and Eti Osa LGAs, there was high level of compliance as there was no Okada rider within the vicinities patrolled by the policemen.
The same level of compliance was recorded at Lekki Phase 1 as bikes were not working in the area.
The Tide, however, gathered that the ban on okada is beginning to have a toll on residents as many commuters were stranded, while motorists hiked the transport fares.
The Director, Press and Public Affairs, Lagos State Task Force, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, said there was no resistance from the okada riders during the enforcement operation.
“Task force officers are everywhere in the affected areas; another team has just been deployed to Abule-Egba,” he said.
It was learnt that the police patrolled the six affected councils on Tuesday, a day to the ban, to warn those who wanted to defy the state directive.
The patrol team comprised of the police, Army, Navy, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Rapid Response Squad, task force and other security agencies.
The General Manager of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Ifalade Oyekan, said the government’s action was justified.
“The government cannot fold its arms as the menace of okada riders increase on a daily basis,” he was quoted as saying in a statement on the state government’s website.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, said the ban was in the interest of all residents and visitors.
He said, “It is backed up by security and safety concerns. In the first quarter of the year, we had 1,712 accidents in Lagos State and 45 per cent of them were from okada riding. We discovered that youths aged 30 to 39 ride okadas because they want a faster means of livelihoods and they do not want to work. The chicken was feeding on something ever before corn arrived. Lagos State is the smallest state in Nigeria with the highest population of people, size and landmass, so why can’t people survive without okadas?
“You have to be alive before thinking about what to feed on and earning a living. We believe that there are decent ways of earning a living, like the government providing land so that bike men can farm or otherwise, they can go to the Lagos State Trust Fund to seek funds. Commuters should rely on other means of transportation instead of okadas”.