No fewer than five BRT buses have been destroyed as commercial motorcyclists popularly called okadas went on rampage Monday in Onipanu, Fadeyi, Mushin and Ijora areas of Lagos state, disrupting commercial activities for hours in protest of incessant police harassment and the new states traffic laws.
The riders according to the reports, wielded dangerous weapons like cutlasses, sticks, canes; smashing windscreens of the buses; forcing passengers out of the buses.
The state government had on August 2, 2012, signed into law, the restriction of commercial motorcycles on 475 roads, specifically, bridges, expressways and double-carriage roads. Last Monday, the police began a clampdown on okada riders resulting in seizure of motorcycles.
Agege Motor Road, Palm Avenue and Idi Araba in Mushin area were also deserted following similar protests.
Public Relations Officer, BRT, Nonye Onwumere, has however urged the state government to bring the perpetrators to book. “These buses are expensive to maintain and members of the public need to understand that the buses are for public comfort,” she said.
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