Eight commercial motorcycle operators, popularly known as Okada riders, have been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Enforcement Unit, also known as the Task Force, for allegedly attacking security personnel during an enforcement operation at Apongbon, Marina, Lagos.

The suspects were reportedly among a group of Okada operators who resisted the seizure of their motorcycles and allegedly attacked security personnel with broken bottles, machetes, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons.

The Task Force said the incident occurred at Apongbon and its environs, where its operatives were carrying out enforcement against motorcycles operating on restricted routes. Other suspected criminal elements were also arrested during the operation.

The suspects were identified as 40-year-old Buba Umar; 30-year-old Musa Usman; 32-year-old Gambo Dauda; 42-year-old Shagari Bulba; 30-year-old Auwalu Mohammed; 25-year-old Idris Hassan; 43-year-old Wale Yusuf, also known as Babalawo; Ohnosi Osaseti and Sagiru Asiru.

One of the suspects allegedly told investigators that the group had been mobilised to resist government enforcement against Okada operations on restricted highways.

The Task Force said the suspects were arrested at the scene of a fracas while allegedly attempting to free motorcycles that had been impounded by enforcement operatives.

According to the agency, some of the suspects admitted that their motorcycles had been seized in previous enforcement operations but said they continued using the restricted routes because of the lucrative nature of the business.

During interrogation, Yusuf allegedly admitted that the group had planned to ensure that future enforcement operations against Okada riders would be met with stiff resistance.

The Chairman of the Task Force, CSP Adetayo Akerele, said the suspects had been placed under surveillance following repeated complaints about attacks on uniformed personnel after enforcement operations in the area.

Akerele said he had received complaints from residents, including senior citizens, about the activities of Okada operators and their alleged confrontations with security personnel.

“I received complaints from residents and senior citizens alleging that Okada operators forming an esprit de corps, if allowed unchecked, could pose a serious threat to residents, pedestrians and schoolchildren. I immediately put strategies in place to track them down,” he said.

He assured residents that the suspects would be prosecuted in accordance with the law, adding that their arrest and prosecution would serve as a warning to others who resort to violence to frustrate lawful enforcement operations.

Akerele also warned that the Task Force would continue its operations against motorcycles operating on restricted routes and other criminal activities on Lagos roads.
He said other accomplices who escaped during the incident would be tracked down and brought to justice.

“I urge members of the public to continue reporting suspicious activities through our official feedback channels for prompt action. We will not retreat or surrender in our drive to make the state’s roads free of recalcitrant Okada operators, who are generally seen as a threat to our collective security,” he said.