An unidentified policeman from Pen Cinema Police Division, Agege, Lagos State, has allegedly killed an okada rider identified simply as Omo Saki, after the policeman hit him with a baton on the head on Oba Ogunnusi Road in the Ogba area.
According to an eyewitness, who identified himself as Baba Lati, the policeman hit the motorcyclist with the baton after he refused to stop when he was flagged.
He said, "It happened this morning (on Tuesday). An okada rider was stopped by a policeman but the man refused to stop. So, the policeman hit him with a baton he was holding. The man fell and died immediately.
"I don't know why the okada man refused to stop but they have been warned not to pass through Agege, which is among the roads commercial motorcyclists were banned from plying."
Another eyewitness, who wished to be identified as Iya Laje, accused the policemen of manhandling any errant motorcyclist accosted in the area.
Iya Laje, a trader in the area, said, "I don't know why the policeman got angry like that. He stopped the okada rider but he refused to stop. The next thing was that he dragged the man from his motorcycle and hit his head with the baton.
"The okada rider fell down immediately and died on the spot. Some boys quickly rushed to the scene to help the rider but when they discovered that he had died, they put his corpse in a truck and pushed it towards the police station."
Traces of bonfire made by the youths to protest the killing were still on the road when our correspondent visited the area.
Also, another rider, Dare Ajayi, was injured when some policemen from the same division descended on him and beat him to a pulp on Haruna Street, Fagba Road, Ifako Ijaye.
Ajayi, who has bruises in some parts of his body, said Haruna Street was not among the roads okada riders were asked not to ply.
He said, "I left my house around 6:30am. As I was going, I saw policemen standing. They flagged me down and I stopped. One of them told me to come down from the bike and I asked him what my offence was. He refused to answer. As I tried to move, he pulled me back and I slugged it out with him. We later fell into a gutter.
"The other policemen later joined him and hit me repeatedly with the butt of their guns and batons. They injured me on my hands, legs and neck. They also tore my cloth. Nevertheless, I did not allow them to take my bike away.
"They later called two patrol vehicles to take me to police station at Pen Cinema, Agege, where I bailed myself with N1, 000 after some of them who know me intervened."
In his reaction, the Chairman, Ifako Ijaye Motorcycles Operators Association of Lagos, Branch B, Mr. Bayo Ayorinde, said the enforcement of the law was "brutal."
He said, "The police need to be civil. Here at Haruna, Fagba Road, another rider was injured. The police beat him a lot. They have to enforce the law gradually. The state government should give exceptions to some places. Look at the streets, a lot of passengers are stranded."
Also, Chairman, Motorcycles Operator Association of Lagos, Iju Ifako Branch, Mr. Ganiyu Ogundimu, said unemployment made some of them to resort to commercial motorcycling.
He said, "The arrest of okada riders should be done moderately. How do they want us to survive? This place is a rural area and people can hardly survive. The Fagba Road they arrested us is not even included in the law.
"There is no job and some of us are artisans. The same government demolished our shops. So, we resorted to okada riding. They have injured someone now. Thank God he did not die."
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said Omo Saki fell from the bike while he was trying to escape from the policemen that were on patrol.
Braide, who spoke with our correspondent on the phone, explained that since the enforcement of the Traffic Law started, the okada riders were fond of running away when they see patrol vans.
"When he saw the policemen, he wanted to run away and he fell into the gutter. I don't know if he died. I was told he got up and moved away with his bike," she said.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012 by Sodiq Oyeleke
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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