Eight Okada Riders Arrested After Lagos Enforcement Clash

(Nigeria Police. Photo by Punch News)

Eight motorcycle taxi riders have been arrested after they allegedly att@ck£d enforcement officers who were seizing their bikes in Lagos.

The operatives of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Enforcement Unit, known as the Task Force, made the arrests during an operation in the Apongbon-Marina area.

The riders were part of a group that reportedly resisted having their motorcycles taken away and confronted the enforcement team with dangerous items including broken bottles, machetes and cutlasses.

A number of other people suspected of involvement in criminal activities were also caught during the same operation.

The arrested riders are Buba Umar, 40; Musa Usman, 30; Gambo Dauda, 32; Shagari Bulba, 42; Auwalu Mohammed, 30; Idris Hassan, 25; Wale Yusuf, 43; Ohnosi Osaseti; and Sagiru Asiru.

They were apprehended when they tried to recover motorcycles that enforcement officers had seized.

During questioning, one suspect said the motorcycle operators had been organised to resist government efforts to stop them from operating on routes where they are not allowed.

Several of those arrested admitted that their motorcycles had been impounded before during enforcement operations, but they kept riding on restricted routes because of the money they make.

One suspect, Yusuf, reportedly said the group planned to put up stronger resistance against future enforcement efforts.

The Task Force leader, CSP Adetayo Akerele, said the suspects had been watched closely after repeated complaints from residents about motorcycle operators att@ck£ng uniformed officers after enforcement operations.

He said community members and elderly residents had reported concerns about the behaviour of some riders and their confrontations with security personnel.

Akerele explained that residents worried the riders could become a danger to everyday people, pedestrians and schoolchildren if their behaviour continued unchecked.

Akerele said those arrested would be taken to court and prosecuted under the law.

He said the action would discourage others from using violence to resist government enforcement.

The Task Force chief added that enforcement against motorcycles on restricted routes will continue across Lagos, and officers are still trying to find other suspects who escaped during the confrontation.

Akerele appealed to the public to report suspicious activities through official channels so the Task Force can act quickly.

He said the agency would not give up in its effort to remove motorcycle operators who break the rules and pose a threat to public safety.