Mushin and Ijora areas of Lagos State on Monday after scores of
commercial motorcycle operators otherwise known as okada riders went
on the rampage to protest against police harassment and the state's
traffic law.
The state government had on August 2, 2012, signed into law, the
restriction of commercial motorcycles on 475 roads, specifically,
bridges, expressways and double-carriage roads.
Last Monday, the police began a clampdown on okada riders resulting in
seizure of motorcycles and harassment of the riders.
Our correspondent, who was in Onipanu, reported that the rampaging
okada riders vandalised five BRT buses, causing a stampede among
passengers.
One of the BRT officials, who refused to identify himself, said the
riders wielded dangerous weapons and forced passengers out of the
buses.
He said, "Around 10am, some motorcyclists accosted some of the buses
that were filled with passengers. The riders wielded cutlasses,
sticks, canes and even catapults.
"They smashed the windscreens of the buses and many of the passengers
even sustained injuries while trying to escape. "After sometime, some
policemen came but the okada riders used catapults to hurl stones at
them. They even overpowered one of the policemen and seized his gun.
Before the policemen could call for back-up, the okada riders drove
against traffic and sped off, making it difficult for policemen to
chase them." Agege Motor Road, Palm Avenue and Idi Araba in Mushin
area were also deserted following similar protests.
An okada rider, Paul Okon, accused the police of extorting money from
them under the pretext of enforcing the law. Okon berated the state
government for not protecting okada riders from police harassment and
for not creating alternative jobs.
He said, "The traffic law restricts okada operation from majorly
expressways and bridges. Most of us have accepted to obey the law but
the police are not enforcing the law the right way.
"Policemen now arrest motorcyclists on backstreets and minor roads and
use it as an avenue to extort money from us. Why can't the state
government protect us from police harassment?
"If a policeman arrests a rider on a non- prohibited road and the
policeman claims he arrested the rider on an expressway, who would
believe the rider? Just yesterday, (Sunday) policemen seized four
motorcycles on Fashoro Street, Surulere and collected N5,000 from each
of them. It's very unfair."
Different police patrol vehicles, some of which were inscribed with
Rapid Response Squad, OPS Attack were seen patrolling Mushin area.
Some policemen were seen shooting into the air. Perhaps, the most
affected area was Ijora Olopa where the riders were said to have
vandalised a large number of BRT buses.
Our correspondent, who visited Costain, saw a red Daewoo LAGBUS with
registration number Lagos XR159-AKD and route number D087 that was
badly damaged.
In the bus, there were shoes, a lady's handbag and some items
suspected to be belonging to passengers who fled when the bus was
attacked. It was later towed to Iponri Police Station.
Meanwhile, no Lagos State Traffic Management Authority official was
seen in the affected areas as most were said to have fled. When our
correspondent visited BRT park, Ojota, it was learnt that five newly
refurbished blue buses were among the vandalised vehicles.
The number of the red LAGBUS vehicles vandalised could not be
ascertained but it was learnt that most of them had been conveyed to
Tafawa Balewa Square.
Public Relations Officer, BRT, Nonye Onwumere, urged the state
government to bring the perpetrators to book.
"These buses are expensive to maintain and members of the public need
to understand that the buses are for public comfort," she said. The
PRO said five blue buses were vandalised and no member of staff was
injured.