Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Commissioner of Police for Lagos Command of the Nigeria Police Force, Mr Abiodun Alabi, has clarified that delivery bikes will not be affected by the latest ban on commercial motorcycles commonly called okada.
The Governor of Lagos, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday announced a fresh ban on activities of okada riders in six local government areas of the state.
Speaking to Channels Television on Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Mr Alabi said, “It does not affect couriers, but the couriers will not carry passengers,
“We will have to make sure they are couriers and not pretending to be one.
“Then the other officers who are okada owners must be uniformed personnel who are going to their various places of work.
“Those who own power-bikes are not affected, because it’s not meant for commercial purpose.”
The police chief said, unlike the previous times, the new policy will be thoroughly enforced, alleging that most okada riders are criminals and must be taken off the road.
However, he acknowledged that banning okadas may have its side effects.
“We know that banning the okada riders can actually increase the crime rate. And we are not unmindful of that and we are already putting in place a lot of strategies to contend with it,” he said.
“We know that it will send a lot of them to unemployment. We are aware of that and are preparing for it,” he added.
The latest ban on okada operators in the affected councils followed the February 2020 restriction placed on the activities of the commercial motorcycles.
The Governor, who spoke at a meeting with the Commissioner of Police, Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) at the State House in Alausa, said the directive affected all highways across six Local Government Areas (LGAs) and nine Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of the state.
According to Mr Sanwo-Olu, the new directive will take effect from June 1, 2022, directing security operatives to enforce the proscription order across the listed councils.
He said, “The total ban order extends to all LCDAs under the listed councils,” which are Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Surulere, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, and Apapa.
