•By Ibrahim A. Jagaba
Following Lagos state government’s recent reaffirmation and pronouncement of total ban on commercial motorcyclists operations in existing and additional LGA’s and LCDA’s, the Lagos state police command, today marshalled a host of other security agencies, including the OP MESA unit of the Nigerian Army, the state security service DSS, the Nigerian Security Civil Defence Corps NSCDC, the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC and a combined assemblage of Lagos state owned, traffic and security agencies including LNSC and LASTMA, amongst others, in a joint show of force exercise across the state.
The show of force exercise, without doubt, was to signpost a final warning to recalcitrant okada operators inhabiting the affected LGA’s and LCDA’s, as the ban is set to commence tomorrow, September the 1st, 2022.
It will be recalled that, the executive governor of the state, Mr Babajide Sanwoolu, had a fortnight ago, announced additional ban in four more LGA’s of Kosofe, Oshodi, Somolu and Mushin, including their adjoining LCDA’s, bringing up the total number of councils affected to twenty four out of the fifty seven councils in the state.
Speaking at the police command headquarters in Ikeja after the termination of the exercise, the commissioner of police Lagos state, CP Sylvester Abiodun Alabi, commended all the agencies involved, noting that, as security and para-military agencies, they shared a common denominator, which is the overall safety and security of the citizenry.
Speaking further, the police chief, emphasized the need to shun rivalry and inter-agency faceoffs, maintaining that it was not in the good interest of their mandate and expected synergy.
