By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
The Kwara State Police Command has said it is ready not to allow commercial motorcycle (okada) riders fleeing Lagos State settle in Kwara.
There had been reports that Lagos State government recently banned commercial motorcycling because of the alleged various rising acts of criminalities traced to them, particularly those from the northern parts of the country.
Speaking with some journalists, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) DSP Ajayi Okasanmi, said the police command was ready for the reported migration of these ‘okada’ riders from Lagos to the country’s hinterland especially Kwara State.
He alluded to the fact that Kwara, being a central state between the north and south can easily be a stopover for these motorcyclists who would be relocating from Lagos.
The Police spokesman said that there was a strong probability that these commercial motorcyclists might finally decide to settle in Kwara State.
Okasanmi said the large migration of these people might ordinarily not be that worrisome but for the reported stories of crimes ranging from kidnapping to robberies, killings and all other forms of criminalities which would have compelled Lagos to ban them.
There had been growing fears with the sudden increase of ‘okada’ riders in Ilorin, the State capital of late.
A check by this reporter showed that these categories of commercial cyclists had increased in number and that they often operate in the night without the official jackets the State government directed that they should wear to differentiate them from private motorcycle owners.
They were said to also engage in ‘okada’ business even when they appeared not to be quite familiar with the terrain, a development that poses serious danger to the locals patronising them.