Lagos is a megacity faced with the problem of population because of the influx of people that come into the State. This has heightened the traffic situation in the city and as such made commuting a difficult one. As a result of this situation, a lot of people have long leaned on the fastest means of transiting which is the motorcycle also known as Okada.
No doubt Okada has been of great help to Lagosians and has also been a vehicle through which all sorts of criminal operations are carried out. There have been numerous complains about Okada riders constituting a nuisance in the society and also posing high security risk in the community.
Recently, David Imoh, a sound engineer was lynched and burnt by Okada riders in Lekki after an argument over N100 generated to a fight which left two others hospitalized. Another was a case in Baruwa, Ipaja where a man intervened in a violent altercation between a pregnant woman and an Okada rider and got stabbed.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced a total ban on the operations of commercial motorcycles in six Local Governments area of the state on May 18, 2022. The ban came as a result of a lot of criminal activities carried out by these bikemen in the State and the directive is meant to be effective from June 1, 2022. The Local government areas affected are Ikeja, Surulere, Eti-Osa, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island, and Apapa.
However, this doesn’t come as a surprise because this is not the first time the government will be placing a ban on motorcycles in Lagos State, other administrations also tried to enforce it but it didn’t work. The Lagos State Police Command have also said that riders and passengers will be arrested under the new Okada ban law.
Several reactions have cropped up since the news of the ban. The chairman of the Lekki residents’ association said that they now live in total fear because the number of the okada riders have become really huge. He added that the fear is as a result of Okada riders perambulating with all manner of weapons – knives, daggers and guns and as soon as there is a small infraction with one of them, within five minutes, the whole area will be filled with them in their hundreds and you will only be lucky to be saved.
