The Joint Action Front has condemned the arrest
and detention of five of its members of by policemen from the Lagos State
Police Command, during a protest against okada restriction in the state.
The group in a statement on Sunday by its
Chairman, Dr. Dipo Fashina, and Secretary, Mr. Abiodun Aremu, described the
arrest as “a kidnap”.
Those arrested are Fashina, Aremu, Hassan Soweto,
Oloyede Usman and Segun Oladunni.
The activists were later released after being
detained for about six hours.
The group said, “The arrest was tantamount to
kidnap as the activists were arrested in their car on Yaba-Ojuelegba Road after
they had left the Lagos Secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress where the
peaceful mass protest march organised by JAF in solidarity with okada riders
had been formally rounded-off.
“The action was to protest the brutality and
extortion of okada riders by the police and other government agencies under the
guise of the enforcement of the law.
“This anti-poor provision bans the operation of okada
riders in 475 roads and restricts their operation to between 6am and 8pm.”
The group urged the government to devote a lane
for the okada operators, noting that that was the only way to stop brutality by
the law enforcement agencies.
Punch
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