Riders accuse DPO of arbitrary restriction, arrests
FEBRUARY 5, 2013
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.”
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