By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
The Police Command in Ogun State has warned that both private and commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada riders, who fail to register their motorcycles with the state government will have their motorcycle impounded.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi, who gave the warning in Abeokuta, the state capital, said that the deadline for registration is on or before Friday, October 1.
This is coming few months after the state government had informed the leadership of all Okada riders unions of its determination to enforce the registration of all riders.
Mr Oyeyemi disclosed that the police are collaborating with other sister agencies to begin the enforcement of the registration at the said date.
According to him, the state government and police force hold it very important to create a database and regulate the activities of motorcycle riders.
This will be able to give the government the total number of bike riders in Ogun, their areas of residence, names, as well as registration numbers, the police spokesman said.
He said this would enable the government to checkmate criminal activities such as kidnapping, armed robbery, and other issues relating to insecurity across the state.
During the interaction session, Mr Oyeyemi said, “If anybody commits any crime using Okada in any part of the state, we will be able to quickly pinpoint who is actually responsible for such crime.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Commercial Motorcycle Riders Identification Scheme (COMORIS), Mr Juwon Adebanjo, revealed 5,000 registration points have been set up across the 20 Local government areas.
He said that 40,000 motorcycles in the state would be registered through the scheme.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Adedapo Adesanya 
Modupe Gbadeyanka