Lagos Taskforce Arrests Eight Okada Operators Over Alleged Assault On Security Personnel

The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Enforcement Unit, popularly known as the Taskforce, has arrested eight suspected commercial motorcycle operators, popularly known as Okada riders, over alleged assault on security personnel and obstruction of enforcement operations in the Apongbon-Marina area of the state.

The suspects were reportedly apprehended during a fracas at Apongbon while allegedly attempting to resist the seizure of motorcycles operating on routes where commercial motorcycle operations are prohibited.

The Taskforce said the suspects attacked security operatives with broken bottles, machetes, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons in an attempt to free some impounded motorcycles.

Those arrested were identified as Buba Umar, 40; Musa Usman, 30; Gambo Dauda, 32; Shagari Bulba, 42; Auwalu Mohammed, 30; Idris Hassan, 25; Wale Yusuf, 43; Ohnosi Osaseti; and Sagiru Asiru.

According to the agency, some other individuals who allegedly participated in the attack escaped from the scene and are currently being tracked.

The Taskforce Chairman, CSP Adetayo Akerele, said the suspects had been placed under surveillance following repeated complaints about attacks on uniformed personnel conducting enforcement operations against Okada riders on restricted routes.

Akerele said the operation followed concerns raised by residents and senior citizens over the activities of groups of Okada operators who allegedly resist enforcement and could pose security risks to residents, pedestrians and schoolchildren.

He said one of the suspects, Wale Yusuf, popularly known as “Babaalawo,” admitted during interrogation that the group had planned to resist future enforcement operations against Okada operators.

Yusuf reportedly said enforcement activities on the highways would no longer be met without resistance, while other suspects allegedly admitted that their motorcycles had previously been impounded but said they continued operating on restricted routes because of the profitability of the business.

The Taskforce chairman said the suspects would be prosecuted in accordance with the law, adding that their prosecution would serve as a deterrent to others who attempt to obstruct government enforcement activities or take the law into their own hands.

Akerele warned that the agency would continue its crackdown on what it described as recalcitrant Okada operators and other criminal elements threatening safety on Lagos roads.

He also urged residents to report suspicious activities through the Taskforce’s official feedback channels to enable security agencies to respond promptly.

“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,” Akerele said.