Men of the Lagos State Police Command on Monday
halted a protest march by commercial motorcycle riders who took to the street
to protest against the state traffic law.
Hundreds of commercial motorcycle riders and
members of civil society groups had gathered at the Labour House, Olajuwon
Street, Yaba, as early as 8am to hold a protest march down to the Lagos State
Secretariat, Alausa.
Joint Action Front, the organiser of the rally,
said the march was to protest against the restriction of commercial
motorcyclists, from about 475 inner roads in the state.
But, the protest march was truncated as a
detachment of policemen led by the state Deputy Commissioner of Police,
Operations, Mr. Tunde Sobulo, stopped the demonstrators.
The protesters had barely marched over 200 metres
on Ojuelegba Road when the armed policemen closed in on them.
Sobulo halted the march after appealing to them
to shelve the march, adding that there was a probability that the protest might
be hijacked.
“We are appealing to you. Please let some
delegates of the executive move to the police headquarters, meet with the CP
(Commissioner of Police) and discuss your grievances with him,” Sobulo said.
After the protesters were blocked from moving
further, the leaders of the okada riders, JAF, and other civil society
groups held a brief meeting and subsequently called off the protest.
“The mass action will be a continuous one. We
will go back and restrategise, after holding a crucial meeting of
stakeholders,” National Secretary of National Conscience Party, Ayodele Akele,
said.
But, the protest leaders alleged that two
executive members of the motorcycle unions, Simeon Aremu and Yusuf Oladimeji,
were arrested by the police while distributing leaflets preparatory to the
protest.
Chairman, Okada Riders Stakeholders
Forum, Lagos State, Tony Keroro, said the protest was organised to register
their displeasure over unjust provisions of the traffic law.
He said, “During the series of public hearings
held before the law was enacted no mention was made about inner roads.
“It was only the highways that were deliberated
at those hearings. Including it in the law without wide consultations is not
only unfair but wicked and fraudulent. The state government should look into
our complaints.”
Chairman, All Nigerian Auto-bike Commercial
Owners and Workers Association, Aliyu Wamba, lamented that the police had under
the guise of enforcing the law unleashed brutality on them.
“We can’t keep mum while our members who ply
unrestricted routes would continue to fall victim of police shooting all in the
name of traffic law. This law has done more harm than good to us,” Wamba said.
General Secretary JAF, Abiodun Aremu, said apart
from the unjust provisions of its implementation, the law was also “very
selective.”
He said, “The law did not only restrict
commercial motorcycles but also barred carts and tricycles from the 475 roads.
“But what we have seen is a deliberate clampdown
on okada riders while cart pushers and tricycle riders operate
unhindered without any harassment.”
Punch
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