In its effort to enforce the ban on Okada riding in the Federal Capital City (FCC), the Director, FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services, Col. Wilson Alade (rtd.), said the directorate has impounded over 1,600 motorcycles between January and July, this year.
He disclosed this during an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP SUNDAY in Abuja and pledged that the directorate was determined to enforce the ban until the last cyclist adhered to the rule.
“From January to July, we have impounded between 1,600 to 1,800 motorcycles in different locations, we will not rest until the last cyclist adheres to the ban and we will give zero tolerance to the use of motorbike as a commercial means of transportation in FCT.
Alade regretted that cyclists use dangerous weapons as a defence mechanism to evade arrest, stressing that several officers had been attacked during the enforcement of the ban, even as he noted that such attacks would not deter them from delivering on their promise.
According to him, “Most of the operators are violent because on several occasions during the course of the enforcement, our men had been seriously injured because the cyclists carried dangerous weapons and had stabbed the officers in different places using sticks, rods.
“It is even very difficult to impound one motorcycle because the moment they see us, they take off, but if we are able to double cross them, they will not escape again. Our people are prone to lots of hazards due to the enforcement but despite their attacks we are not discouraged and we will make sure that all illegal operators are arrested.
On whether he had verified their reason for returning to the road, he said, “A law put in place banning Okada is a law enacted by the FCT and we will ensure that we enforce it. We will not listen to their reasons because if we do so, we will not enforce the law.
“Usually, when we arrest them, they tell us that it’s their only means of livelihood, for them to operate in FCT where they are banned means that they want to intentionally violate the law and we will not spare them. The only reason we will listen to is for them to comply with the directive .