Taskforce Impounds 4,500 Units Of Motorcycles In Lagos State

For flouting traffic rules and regulations, the Lagos State Task Force on Sunday , said that it  impounded 4,500 motorcycles popularly called okada from owners who defaulted.

Public Affairs Unit head of the agency, Mr Taofik Adebayo, who disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos,said the enforcement of the laws concerning the safety of lives on motorcycle riding in Lagos had  reduced the number of  casualties recorded in hospitals.

According to him, the state Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu during his first 100 days in office said that he will soon give directives on what to do with the impounded bikes in line with the operations of motorcycles in the state.

“We have no less than 4,500 impounded bikes awaiting to be crushed but at present, we are awaiting the Lagos State Government’s directives with the ones we have now.

“We are not relenting and we will continue to impound motorcycles that  default as we come by them,” he said.

The officer said that Lagos State being the economic hub of the country, had been attracting people from across the country.

He said that the insurgence that led to the displacement of many people in  northern part of the country.

He said that this forced them to migrate to Lagos and take to the motorcycle transportation which they considered as one of the easiest businesses for them.

“Earlier in the month, we intercepted no fewer than 44 people with their bikes in an articulated vehicle  coming from the northern part of the country into Lagos.

He said that the task force had to release them  because they had proper identification.

“However, there are so many illegal motorcyclists that had  slipped our inspection and scrutiny into the metropolitan city through routes that are used to smuggle goods.

“This tells you that bikes still come into the state in their hundreds in spite of arrests been made by law enforcement agencies.

” The influx of these displaced people is what is bringing an increase in the ‘okada’ business in Lagos,” he said.