A total of 355 commercial motorcycles were impounded by the Lagos State Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit (Task Force) in an operation that lasted about five hours on Monday, January 22.
The Public Relations Officer of the agency, Mr Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, confirmed the seizures in a statement on Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that earlier on Jan. 14, the task force had announced the seizure of 344 motorcycles from different parts of the state within seven days.
Abdulraheem said the operation was difficult due to the terrain in which it was carried out, as well as the hostility of the motorcyclists.
“Our success today is one of a kind, as a result of the number of bikes seized in this axis.
“We had visited Alakija and Abule weeks ago, but we had to revisit here again, including the Trade Fair/Badagry Expressway.
“We achieved this result so as to send a clear message to these intractable okada riders.
“The Agency came fully prepared for the operation, leaving all seven trucks filled with confiscated okada.
“It is evident to these okada riders that there is no place for them in a mega city like Lagos, that is the reason we have continued hitting them back to back till they flee or turn over a new leaf,” he said.
Abdulraheem said that intense operations would be carried out by the Agency and extended to every nook and cranny of the state, till the war against the motorcyclists was won.
Operations of commercial motorcycle riders are banned in many parts of the state.