Ever
since the ministry of Transportation under the Lagos State Government came out
with a new Traffic Law and thereby placing Ban on Commercial motorcycle riders,
popularly known as OKADA, restricting them of movement on major road in Lagos
State.
The
impoundment and seizing of these motorcycles (OKADA) has now become a lucrative
business for the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) in the sense that it has now
become a source of income for policemen.
In
the recent past this issue has raised a lot of controversies in other states in
Nigeria, and now it happening in Lagos City.
The
issue is so alarming because it now seems as if the both parties (Police &
Okada Riders) are now playing a game of “Police & Thief’’ just like little
kids in primary school; where an Okada man on motion caught the sight of a
policeman and would suddenly make an abrupt U-turn without caring where and how
he made it just to escape the harassment and extortion from the police
officials.
The
policemen were expected to implement justice, but in the itinerary forget their
primary duties and start chasing Okada men thereby maneuvering everything to a
business affair, that is, if you want to ride without fear or disturbance, you
would have to settle the officers.
Further
more, not only do the policemen see this as a way of extorting money from the
Okada rider, but also harassing them with their Guns, we all heard the story of
how an Okada man was brutally beaten by a policeman.
The
most annoying part is when you see the Anti-robbery Squad Unit of the Police
Force arresting bikes and Okada man settling them as a kind of bail for their
impounded bikes; what has the Anti robbery Squad got to do with the withholding
bikes? Nothing, Absolutely nothing, but because of the money that was
discovered to be involve make every unit in the Police Force are interested in
what I now called the “Seizing of Bike Business”.
It
quite unfortunate that, the Lagos State Government is not doing anything about
this, let all imagine this, if that all bike that are seize are not returned
back to the owners, then , the population of bike in Lagos would have reduce to
a minimal level, since the law made.
