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Eight commercial motorcycle operators, popularly known as Okada riders, have been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Enforcement Unit, also known as the Task Force, over an alleged attack on security personnel during an enforcement operation in the Apongbon-Marina axis.

The suspects were reportedly among a group of motorcycle operators who resisted attempts by enforcement officers to impound their motorcycles and allegedly confronted the personnel with weapons, including broken bottles, machetes and cutlasses.

The confrontation reportedly occurred around Apongbon and neighbouring areas as Task Force operatives enforced restrictions on motorcycle operations along designated routes.

The agency also disclosed that other persons suspected of engaging in criminal activities were arrested during the operation.

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, also known as Babalawo; Ohnosi Osaseti; and Sagiru Asiru.

According to the Task Force, the suspects were apprehended after a confrontation broke out when they allegedly attempted to retrieve motorcycles seized by enforcement officers.

One of the suspects reportedly told investigators that motorcycle operators had been mobilised to resist the government’s enforcement of restrictions on Okada operations along prohibited highways.

The agency added that some of the arrested operators admitted that their motorcycles had previously been impounded during enforcement exercises but continued using restricted routes because of the financial benefits derived from the business.

During interrogation, Yusuf allegedly revealed that the group planned to intensify its resistance to future enforcement operations involving commercial motorcycles.

The Chairman of the Task Force, CSP Adetayo Akerele, said the suspects had been under surveillance following repeated complaints about alleged attacks on uniformed personnel after enforcement exercises in the area.

Akerele explained that residents, including elderly people, had expressed concerns over the activities of some Okada operators and their alleged confrontations with security personnel.

“I received complaints from residents and senior citizens alleging that Okada operators forming an esprit de corps, if allowed unchecked, could pose a serious threat to residents, pedestrians and schoolchildren. I immediately put strategies in place to track them down,” he said.

The Task Force chairman said the arrested suspects would be prosecuted in line with the law, adding that the action was intended to discourage the use of violence against government officials carrying out legitimate enforcement duties.

Akerele further warned that the enforcement of restrictions on motorcycles along prohibited routes would continue across Lagos State.

He added that efforts were ongoing to track down and arrest other suspects who allegedly fled the scene during the confrontation.

“I urge members of the public to continue reporting suspicious activities through our official feedback channels for prompt action.

“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,” he said.

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