In Lagos State, the commercial operation of motorcycles, popularly known as Okada, on restricted routes and highways is prohibited, with offenders liable to prosecution.
During a week-long enforcement exercise in June, which covered strategic locations including Ikorodu, Agric Bus Stop, Festac First Gate, Mazamaza, Iyana School, Iyana-Iba, Idimu Road, Egbeda, Kola Bus Stop, Iyana Ipaja, Ikotun Roundabout, Ijaiye in Ojokoro, Berger Bus Stop, Ojodu, Akowonjo Roundabout, Igando Bus Stop, LASU-Iba Road and Pipeline Road in Idimu, among others, a total of 278 commercial motorcycles were impounded.
According to a statement by the Lagos State Task Force, the exercise formed part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the state’s security architecture, protect lives and property, and curb the activities of criminal elements.
Recall that in May 2022, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced an indefinite ban on commercial motorcycle operations in six Local Government Areas.
The affected local governments are Ikeja, Surulere, Eti-Osa, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island and Apapa, in line with the state’s Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018.
“After a critical review of our restriction on Okada activities in the first six Local Government Areas where we restricted them on February 1, 2020, we have seen that the menace has not abated. We are now directing a total ban on Okada activities across the highways and bridges within these six local governments and their local council development areas, effective from June 1, 2022,” Sanwo-Olu had said.
In August 2022, the ban was extended to Kosofe, Oshodi-Isolo, Somolu and Mushin Local Government Areas, as well as the six Local Council Development Areas under them.
Despite the ban, Okada operators have continued to ply prohibited routes across the 10 affected Local Government Areas. Among the violators are security personnel who are expected to uphold law and order.
THE WHISTLER recently visited Toll-Gate, the boundary between Lagos and Ogun states, where our correspondent observed security personnel operating commercial motorcycles while wearing police face caps, Mobile Police T-shirts or military camouflage. The use of these uniforms appeared intended to discourage law enforcement officials from stopping them while carrying out the illegal business.
THE WHISTLER’s investigation showed that from Toll-Gate to Ikeja Along, the operators charge N2,500 per passenger, while fares to Oshodi are even higher. They typically carry two passengers at a time, earning about N5,000 from a single trip.
In February, the Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force, Adetayo Akerele, issued a strong warning to uniformed personnel engaged in commercial motorcycle operations on prohibited routes, stressing that law enforcement officers must not be seen as lawbreakers.
Addressing a group of uniformed personnel who visited his office to appeal for the release of motorcycles impounded during enforcement operations, Akerele urged them to comply strictly with the state’s traffic and environmental laws or face prosecution.
“I am not wicked, but I am also not weak, and I do not want to be perceived as a weak leader,” he said, according to a statement by the agency.
Akerele noted that it reflects poorly on security agencies when uniformed personnel, who are expected to enforce the law, are found violating it.
“As security operatives, we understand the need for you to get to your duty posts on time. However, whatever means you adopt to get there must fall within the ambit of the law. If you are properly dressed in your official uniform and not carrying passengers, your colleagues may exercise discretion to avoid arrest,,” he said.
He urged them to adhere to professional standards and refrain from engaging in illegal activities capable of bringing their respective agencies into disrepute.
“It is embarrassing to the State and the nation to see military, paramilitary, and police personnel using uniforms worn by distinguished veterans as immunity to evade arrest by operating commercial motorcycles, especially when they are expected to be combating criminal activities within their jurisdictions,” he added.
Despite the warning, security personnel continue to engage in the illegal commercial operation of motorcycles on routes where okada activities remain prohibited.
Efforts by THE WHISTLER to get a reaction from the spokesperson of the Lagos State Task Force, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, were unsuccessful.
He had yet to respond to a message sent to him at the time of filing this report.
(The Whistler)