Following the total ban on Motorcycle operations across six Local government areas of Lagos, the state government on Friday, crushed no fewer than 2,228 impounded motorcycles for failing to comply with provisions of the traffic law.
The over 2,000 motorcycles were among those impounded by the Lagos State Taskforce and other enforcement agencies saddled by the government with the responsibility of ensuring compliance with the traffic law across the state.
Meanwhile, over 259 motorcycles were impounded within 48 hours after the total ban across six local governments, and 18 suspected riders, as well as passengers, were apprehended during the enforcement exercise.
As gathered, the state government has concluded plans to prosecute both passengers and riders by arraigning them before the Lagos mobile court for violating the state laws.
The Chairman of the Lagos State Taskforce, Shola Jejeloye, disclosed that the state government will not relent in its efforts at ridding the metropolis of disobedient Okada riders.
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Jejeloye explained that the over 2000 motorcycles being crushed were in continuation of the exercise and that it was often done as stipulated by the law and served as a deterrent to others still plying restricted routes across the state.
The Chairman stressed that the agency would further intensify its effort in ensuring that all impounded motorcycles were crushed after following due process of Traffic Laws, as enshrined in Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018.
According to him, the law said that no two persons shall ride, drive or propel a motorcycle or a tricycle on a major highway within the state, and any person in contravention of this provision commits an offence and will be prosecuted.
Jejeloye added that the agency’s efforts have been doubled since June 1, when the ban took effect. “Although the compliance rate is very high and encouraging, okada operators are not to be trusted. Their style of operation is synonymous with gorilla warfare- when we retreat, they advance, and when we advance, they retreat, but enforcement of the ban has come to stay.
“We will ensure not a single offender operating his okada on the Highways will be spared. We will keep watch and continue patrolling the affected parts of the State to ensure they do not get back on our toads.”
The chairman stated that in the past, he had made a series of appeals verbally and through the mass media on the dangers of Okada operations in the state, but the perpetrators remained hell-bent on carrying on with their dare-devil style of riding against traffic, speeding recklessly, damaging vehicles of other road users; and endangering their lives, passengers, pedestrians and other road users.
