Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit, aka task force clashed with commercial motorcyclist’s aka okada riders in Idi-Araba, Surulere area of Lagos State on Tuesday following the ban issued by the state government on the 1st June 2022.
Driving the news
The violence in Idi-Araba began when the state task force stormed the area to enforce the ban on commercial motorcyclists as Idi-Araba, Surulere is one of the six local governments in which the state government banned okada riders.
- Reports say that the riders resisted the surrender of their bikes, which magnified into a confrontation with the task force.
What they are saying
The Director, Press and Public Affairs, Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem confirming the raid said the task force seized 180 motorcycles. He added that they have restored calm to the area as the resistance was “not something new”.
Quick catch-up
The Lagos state government, in conjunction with the state’s police command, banned commercial motorcycles in six local governments and nine local council development areas of the state today on the 1st of June 2022.
What to watch
- The ban of commercial motorcyclists in Lagos State over the past administrations has watered down after a few weeks of implementation. Residents are keen to see if the present government led by Governor Babjide Sanwo-Olu would make this ban a permanent one.
- Adapting to the ban on Okada in the affected areas could prove somewhat difficult on residents, as okada has been an alternative to counter issues such as heavy flow of traffic and inaccessible roads.