Okada riders
Commercial motorcycle riders (okada riders)
in Anthony Village area of Lagos have accused the Divisional Police
Officer of Anthony Division of “arbitrarily restricting their
operations” on roads in the community which are not among restricted
ones in the state traffic law.
They alleged that policemen attached to
the division had been constantly harassing them and impounding their
motorcycles while legally plying the unrestricted streets within the
area.
When PUNCH Metro visited the area on Thursday, it was observed that okada
riders had stopped plying the entire Anthony Village roads which were
not included in the list of restricted routes in the Lagos State Traffic
Law.
Chairman, Motorcycle Operators
Association of Lagos State, Kosofe Branch C, Anthony Village, Jelili
Fasunle, said his members had been facing “constant harassment” as well
as “illegal and forceful seizure” of their motorcycles due to a strange
traffic law “enacted” by the DPO.
Fasunle said when the harassment
continued unabated, they held a meeting with the DPO on the issue. He
added that they were taken aback when the DPO reeled out more streets in
the area where they were not supposed to ply.
Fasunle said, “We are quite conversant
with the provisions of the Lagos State Traffic Law and there is no
single street in the whole of Anthony Village that has been restricted
to okada operations.
“These policemen asked us not to ply
Oseni, Adebayo Mokuolu, Faramobi Ajike, Odunlami and Olorunlogbon
streets and it beats our imagination that the DPO has made it a point of
duty to make arbitrary law restricting commercial motorcycle operation
in these areas.
“When we held a meeting with the DPO, he
said the Commissioner of Police did not want to see us operating in
those areas. He even went ahead to add more streets which he said we
were not supposed to ply including Anthony Village Road.”
An okada rider in the area,
Victor Daniel, said their continued harassment was uncalled for an urged
the state government to caution the DPO.
He said, “On December 24, 2012, when
people were busy planning for Christmas, policemen attached to Anthony
Division clamped down on us and seized 17 motorcycles on unrestricted
routes in this area.
“Apart from impounding their
motorcycles, many of us were arrested and we spent Christmas Eve at the
police cell. What we are asking for is fairness in the enforcement of
the traffic law.”
Waheed Elekunle, an okada rider
in the area, said the association had taken it upon itself to cater for
the needs of members whose motorcycles were impounded.
He said, “The action of the policemen at
Anthony Division is not only illegal but unfair and unjust. They storm
various places in this area at will, impound motorcycles, and transfer
them to their collation point in Ikeja.”
When our correspondent called at the Anthony Police Division, the DPO was said to have travelled.
When contacted on telephone, the Police
Public Relations Officer of the state Police Command, Ngozi Braide, said
the police had no right to make laws on their own.
She said, “The commercial motorcycle
riders might not be conversant with the restricted and unrestricted
routes as many of them are ignorant of the provisions of the traffic
law.
“But the fact is that policemen or
police officers don’t make laws. What we do is to implement and enforce
the law. They might not be telling you the whole truth. Those okada
riders might be flouting other provisions of the traffic law. For
example, they might be riding without crash helmet, riding without
permits or carrying more than one passenger.
“This would have necessitated the enforcement of relevant sections of the traffic law resulting in their arrests.”
PUNCH
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