Thursday 31 October 2013

Motorcyclists defy LASG on restricted routes

motorcycles: Image: ASSOCIATED PRESS
A check by some NAN correspondents showed that the motorcyclists were now plying parts of Costain, Funsho Williams Avenue, Ojuelegba, Mobil Road, Apapa and the Ikorodu Road without any fear of being arrested.
The law enforcement agents, in particular, were found to be the major offenders on these restricted routes, as they were always on the roads, without even wearing the usual crash helmets.

An Army Sergeant, who does not want his name mentioned, told NAN that the motorcycle was the only source of transportation for him to be able to get to his office on time.
"How do you expect me to be wasting my precious time waiting at the bus stop to board a commercial bus to my office?
"I rely on my motorcycle.
"The motorcycle has always been a way for me to get to the office and other destinations on time," the Sergeant said.
When reminded about the law and the dangers involved in plying the restricted routes, the Sergeant retorted that "everything in life is a risk".
Ibrahim Mohammed, a commercial motorcyclist, told NAN, that he preferred plying the restricted routes, saying that he made more money from them, than plying the authorised routes.
"I know it is dangerous to ply the restricted areas, but I cannot do without plying them because I make more money on those routes.
"I was arrested for violating the law some months ago, but I settled those that arrested me before my motorcycle was released to me," Ibrahim said.
"Those restricted areas are a gold mine for me, in terms of passengers, who are usually more than willing to pay more to get to their destinations on time," he said.
Another cyclist, Segun Adedeji, told NAN that he recently lost his money and phones to those who arrested him for plying the restricted routes, but was lucky to escape with his motorcycle.
"I use the money made from the okada business to send my children to school and also feed my family.
"If I stop plying these restricted areas, my income will reduce and I will not have enough to pay my children's school fees," Adedeji said.
A police corporal, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told NAN that it was difficult to arrest the motorcyclists on such highways because of the risks involved.
"It is very difficult to enforce the order, especially on the highways. We need armed personnel and other logistics that could make the arrests effective," he said.
"We nearly lost one of our men recently when he went after a cyclist to a joint at Agbo Malu, on Mobil Road, Apapa.
"He was mobbed by the motorcyclists and beaten to a pulp, but they all fled before help could reach him.
"Once in a while, we raid them and seize their motorcycles, but before you know it, they are back on the roads again," he said.
Mr Bayo Sulaiman, Chairman, Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences, told NAN that over 15,000 offenders have been arrested in the last six months.
He said over 3,000 motorcycles had been impounded by the task force for violating the restriction order.
"It is only the courts that can have the statistics of those that have actually been arrested and successfully prosecuted," Sulaiman said.
NAN reports that there have been some fatal accidents involving motorcyclists on these restricted areas that were not reported for possible prosecution.
Meanwhile, most of these impounded motorcycles were seen around Maryland on Monday by NAN correspondents, on their final journey for crushing at a Plant in Epe.
The motorcyclists' union recently lost a battle to challenge the validity and constitutionality of the Lagos State Road Traffic Law at a Federal High Court in Lagos.
NAN also recalls that the Lagos Traffic Law, promulgated on Aug. 2, 2012, banned the operation of commercial motorcyclists on 475 roads across the state.

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