Two yet-to-be-identified persons have been reportedly killed while many others were injured as commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada riders, clashed with transport union members at Iyana-Oba, on the Mile 2- Badagry expressway, Lagos.
It was learnt that some urchins working for a transport union had seized a motorcycle from a rider said to be Hausa at about 9 am on Monday for allegedly refusing to obtain an operation permit (ticket) issued at N500 by the union.
The ticket fee was hiked from N200 to N500.
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The owner of the motorcycle was said to have resisted the move to impound his motorcycle, an attempt that drew the attention of other union members to the scene.
Within minutes, hell was let loose as other Hausa riders stopped to rescue their member who as of then was being beaten.
A commercial bus driver, who identified himself only as Emmanuel, confirmed to our correspondent that the urchins resorted to the use of sticks to beat up other riders who later joined in the free for all.
He said the situation got out of hand when one of the riders stabbed a member of the transport union.
“I heard that the union member who was stabbed later died as he was left by the side of the road,,” he said.
Another commercial bus driver, Ramon Saheed, said the union members used guns when they heard that one of their members had been killed.
“The urchins in retaliation shot dead a rider.
“This attracted the attention of Hausa riders from Alaba Rago who rushed to the scene and started attacking the union members,” he added.
Soldiers from Ojo cantonment were drafted to protect their facility, while policemen from Ojo and Okomaiko policemen stations were drafted to restore normalcy.
Commuters stranded
Commuters were stranded by the roadside for hours and commercial buses avoided the area, while the few who worked operated between Mile 2 to Barracks and from Agbara to Okomaiko.
The commuters were made to complete the remaining part of the journey on foot, while others avoided Iyana-Oba completely.
Confirming the crisis, the Police Public Relations Officer for the state command, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement, said normalcy had since returned to the area.
Adejobi, however, said there was no ethnic correlation in the fracas.
He said the crisis started as a result of a disagreement between members of the transport unions, okada units precisely, on the implementation of increment in ticket money collected from riders.
He said the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, had ordered for immediate deployment of additional police personnel to the area to maintain law and order as he also directed the Area Commander, Area E FESTAC, to personally be on the ground to monitor the situation and invite the leaders of the affected Okada riders unit for an urgent meeting.
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