Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Umar Mamko has said he would have loved to see a total ban on the use of commercial motorcycle in Lagos like it was done in states like Akwa Ibom.
Mamko blamed okada riders for crimes like robbery and kidnapping, adding that since they were restricted on some roads in the state, crimes had dropped drastically, adding that they should even be grateful to Governor Babatunde Fashola for merely restricting their operations.
“Okada riders were banned in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and some states, and heaven did not fall. They should appreciate Fashola that he restricted their operations and not total ban. Left to me, I prefer a total ban,” Mamko stated.
He therefore advised okada riders to obey the traffic law even though they have challenged their restriction in a court of law. He appealed to them to exercise restraint and allow the court to decide the matter.
Defending his men on the allegation that some policemen were collecting N5,000 or N10,000 bribe for each okada seized, Manko said okada riders should not have violated the law in the first place. He however accused them of resorting to bribery allegations in order to blackmail policemen to release their seized motorcycles after being caught on the wrong side of the law.
“It is when they are arrested that they resort to blackmail and unprovable allegations of bribery,” he stressed.
Speaking further the commissioner said any policeman caught collecting bribe from okada riders will have himself to blame as he does not condone any act of bribery and corruption. “Any policeman caught receiving bribe does so at his own peril,” he declared.
