LAGOS - Lagos State Government has clamped down on erring commercial motorcyclists as it began the enforcement of its order prohibiting them from operating on highways.

Police and the personnel of Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA) arrested motorcyclists, known as okada riders, who flouted the order at various locations in the Lagos metropolis.

The motorcycles of the erring okada riders were equally impounded by the law enforcement agents.

Correspondent, who monitored the development, reported that seven commercial motorcyclists were arrested on the Iyana-Ipaja – Ikeja Road and three at the Alaka Bus-stop on Funsho Williams Avenue.

The government had at a stakeholders’ forum on commercial motorcyclists’ operations on August 24 directed that the motorcyclists should from September 1 restrict their operations to feeder roads.

Commercial motorcyclists unions, law enforcement agencies and some other members of the public attended the forum presided over by the Governor Babatunde Fashola.

Many commercial motorcyclists flouted the order on Wednesday morning but complied in the afternoon, following the arrests of their colleagues by the police and LASTMA personnel.

A number of okada riders plied the Orile-Mile 2, Ikorodu, Lagos-Abeokuta and Iyana Ipaja-Oshodi roads in the morning. Some of them carried more than a passenger while some others did not wear crash helmets.

The Head of Operations, LASTMA, Mr. Onabanjo Adegbayi, told newsmen that the arrested okada riders and their vehicles would be taken to the LASTMA office at Alausa, Ikeja.
He said that the erring okada riders would be punished.

“We have much compliance among the riders but we still have some bad eggs among them who failed to comply,” Adegbayi said.

He said that the enforcement of the order resulted in the free flow of traffic on Lagos highways and hoped that the development would reduce accidents.

Meanwhile, some okada riders have criticised the law, while some others claimed ignorance of it.

A motorcyclist, who simply identified himself as Malam Abubakar, told a policeman who arrested him on the Ikorodu Road that he was not aware of the prohibition.

“I know about every other law concerning our operations but I am not aware of the restriction from expressways,” Abubakar said.

A Nigerian Certificate of Education graduate, Geshion Obadiah, who rides okada on the Ajao Estate, told newsmen that the ban would create room for corruption among security operatives.

The French graduate said that many law enforcement agents would cash in on the development to extort money from commercial motorcyclists.

Obadiah said that many law enforcement agents could leave their assigned jobs and focus on harassment and extortion of money from the riders.