By Shakirudeen Bankole
Motorists and passers-by were seen running helter skelter for their lives on Wednesday, as the Lagos State Taskforce team clashed with commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada Riders, in Ikeja along Airport Expressway.
From what appeared to be a state wide operation, the heavily armed special law enforcement team, have since on Monday, November 16, embarked on enforcing the ban on Okada riders, especially along the federal roads and some selected state roads.
Just like the similar and scary scenario that transpired at Mile 2/Maza-Maza areas of the metropolis, as reported by The New Diplomat, the roving taskforce team, reportedly stormed Ikeja along and Airport Road, the major drop and pick-out points for Okada Riders, and moved to enforce its ban on operators and their motorcycles.
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The operation was however rebuffed, as the riders, mostly educated but frustrated Nigerian youths, vowed to resist the moves.
While the resistance allegedly triggered sporadic shootings by the police, prompting drivers and passers-bye to scamper for safety, Okada riders at the scene were seen to be chasing some police on foot, who were running at full speed, to catch up with their moving patrol vehicle.
According to eye-witness account by one Mr. Kunle Afolabi, “the resistance of the Taskforce operation was long overdue, as the team is reputed for notorious and lawless act of stealing and extorting the struggling and poor Nigerians, using the cover of law enforcement.”
He said; “The Lagos State Taskforce Team is a yet another overzealous arm of the government agency that should be profiled and properly purged,” Afolabi said, stressing that “if currently not in existence, they should be made to work in accordance with some Code of Conduct, and that should include an unbreakable allegiance to honesty and transparency in the cause of their duty.”
He explained that this was necessary, as the team is fast becoming another frightening agency like the recently disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
One of the affected Okada riders, who simply identified himself as Steven, said “the Lagos Taskforce Team collected my bikes for three different times in the last two months.”
He added; “And I have bailed myself with N30,000 on each of such occasion. These Taskforce are worse than SARS. They are good at hiding under the pretext of law enforcement to extort us. And they forget that most of us are graduates, who resulted in this job because of the situation of the country,” Steven said, speaking in impressive good English.”
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