Commercial motorcycle, also known as Okada, has been banned from operating in Ikeja, Surulere and four other local government areas of the Lagos state.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced the ban on Wednesday during a meeting with police chiefs in the state. He said that the ban is “total and indefinite”.
The four other local council areas banned alongside Ikeja and Surulere are Eto-Osa, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island, and Apapa.
A statement issued after the meeting quoted Sanwo-Olu saying, “After a critical review of our restriction on Okada activities in the first six local government areas where we restricted them on February 1, 2020, we have seen that the menace has not abated.
“We are now directing a total ban on Okada activities across the highways and bridges within these six local government and their local council development areas, effective from June 1, 2022.”
Noting that the move will be extended to other areas of the state very soon, the governor said, “This is a phased ban we are embarking on this period, and we expect that within the short while when this ban will be enforced, Okada riders in other places where their activities are yet to be banned can find something else to do.”
He said the move was in line with the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018, and directed police in the state to ensure its enforcement without compromise.
Sanwo-Olu equally called on residents of the state patronising Okada riders on the highways to embrace alternative means of transportation provided by the government.
“We have provided Last-Mile buses in the affected areas; they are working and effective. We also have medium-capacity buses and high-capacity buses working in these areas. Before the end of the year, we are also bringing the rail along these corridors with their terminals. We have provided jetties as well to provide alternatives.
“We will not sit back and watch criminally-minded people use that mode of transportation (motorcycles) to perpetrate crimes and criminality in Lagos. Lives are being lost on a daily basis, preventable accidents are happening every day and the riders are not respecting any of our traffic laws.
“The situation has led to a complete breakdown of law and order. This ban has come to stay and we will not tolerate any weakness in enforcement,” he said.
