There was tension in Lagos on Friday, following a clash between the police and okada riders in Ogba and Agege. The pandemonium left one okada rider dead and many injured, Daily Trust reports.
Commercial activities were paralysed as a result of another clash which caused panic among residents and shop owners in the popular Ogba Area of Lagos and parts of Agege. Many people avoided the areas when information filtered in about the clash.
Daily Trust learnt that the pandemonium started around 8pm on Thursday at Mokuolu Street in Ogba when the policemen were trying to arrest one Okada rider.
This led to a clash which resulted in the shooting of three Okada riders, Daily Trust learnt.
However, one of the Okada riders reportedly died on Friday morning, prompting others to embark on a protest but they were subsequently dispatched by security agencies.
A detachment of mobile police men and plain clothed officers were deployed to maintain law and order while roads leading to Mokuolu Street including Excellence Roundabout, Ogba Market to WAEC area were blocked with police truck from the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) unit.
All the shops in the major market were equally closed when our correspondent visited.
Daily Trust reports that there was a similar crisis on Monday, April 26, around Ojo, Iba, Ajangbadi communities.
The crisis, which snowballed to the next day, was triggered by a misunderstanding between members of a transport union and Okada riders at Iyana-Oba, on the Mile 2-Badagry expressway, Lagos.
Reports at the time said two persons were feared killed while several others were injured. Vehicles and other property were also damaged in the fracas.
Armed policemen from the anti-riot squad as well as soldiers from Ojo cantonment had to be deployed to restore normalcy.
The latest trouble
Daily Trust reports that the Mokuolu Park used by Okada riders has both the Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba riders plying their trade from Mokuolu Street down to Oke Ira in Ogba.
They said the street where the Police attempted to confiscate the motorcycle was not among the areas where there is a ban on Okada.
Daily Trust Saturday reports that Ogba is part of Ikeja Local Government, one of the six LGAs where there is an existing ban on the operations of Okada and tricycles but they operate within the inner streets of most of the LGs.
Treasurer of the Park, Mr. Mukaila Bankole, said he was told on Friday morning that one of the shot Okada riders died and he was trying to calm the Hausa motorcyclists down when he was beaten up by one of the officers.
The union leader insisted that the area where the arrest was made was not on the highway where they were restricted from plying.
He said, “What happened was that last night, we heard that police from Pen Cinema Division wanted to seize a bike from the Abokis, along the line they shot some of the okada men. Later, one died while two are still in the hospital.
“So, this morning, when we heard what happened, the atmosphere became tensed and we are trying to calm the situation. When Policemen from Area G came, they were chased away.
“Then the Taskforce came and chased away those Abokis. I was sitting down in the shop here and one policeman came to chase us away, saying there would not be Okada again. He just started beating me; you can see blood all over my body.”
He accused the policemen of turning the Hausa commercial motorcyclists to ATMs.
“When all these policemen seize our bikes, they would ask us to come and pay N10,000, 20,000. They would say those Abokis are ATMs, that they should look for them to arrest them.
“If they hold you today and you were released, another set of policemen would still arrest you.
“They normally come around 8pm. Sometimes, they also arrest us during the day. This is Mokuolu Street and Okada was not banned here and we don’t usually go to the Express. We go from here to Oke Ira,” he added.
One of the shop owners who identified himself as Olamide told one of our correspondents that the clash occurred when policemen attempted to arrest the Okada rider and confiscate his bike.
He said the complain from the Okada riders was that the arrest was being carried out at a time the union leaders and other Okada riders had left the park late in the evening.
The eyewitness said, “I wasn’t there when it happened. I only got here this morning and saw policemen everywhere. I later heard that the policemen wanted to arrest the Okada riders but they challenged them that it was not the proper time to seize their bike.
Farouq Muhammad, another commercial motorcycle rider who operates along Ogba and Berger, told Daily Trust that they only gathered to protest after one of them was shot by the police while attempting to snatch his bike.
“The police have been maltreating us these days. For you to operate, you have to pay them everyday. I ply between Ogba/Berger to Ibafo, and I pay the police N1000 every day. They know us, and they are aware if we are on duty or not, so if you give them their money you will have no issue with them, but if you refuse when they stopped you, you have to pay between N10,000 and N20,000.
Also, Musa Gadzama, who is one of the leaders of the Hausa Okada Riders told Daily Trust Saturday that the union leaders of Yoruba extraction usually negotiate with the police to allow the Okada riders operate.
Comrade Ya’u Alhaji Musa Sakaba, who is the coordinator, Northern Nigeria Youth Organisation (NNYO) in South West, said majority of Okada riders in Lagos State are Northern Nigerian youths who left their states due to insecurity.
He said most of the youths are engaged in commercial motorcycle business.
The Sarkin Hausawa of Agege, Alhaji Muhammadu Musa Dogonkadai, however, urged the Hausa Okada riders to be law-abiding and also obey the laws of the state.
His spokesperson Alhaji Abubakar Ali Na’ibi told Daily Trust that something must be done by the northern leaders to reduce the level of unemployment among the youth in the North which has resulted in the migration of the youth to the South.
“There is also the issue of insecurity, which is why they migrate to the South here. And all of a sudden, you will see 150 to 200 Hausa Okada operators. Tell me how they will not have issues? We are begging the Arewa leaders to do something. We learnt the Okada riders were protesting the killing of one of them by the police, thank God the situation is calm as I am talking to you, and we as traditional leaders are doing our best to call them to order,” he added.
Several calls to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Muyiwa Adejobi, were not answered at the time of filing this report.
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