The Lagos State Task force on Environment and other Special Offence Unit has arrested 93 commercial motorcyclists, aka okada riders, and other suspected hoodlums.
The suspects, who were nabbed in the Oshodi, Agege, Ojuelegba and Iju-Ishaga areas, were accused of being illegal occupants of abandoned buildings and hemp smokers.
A large number of them were okada riders and were also tagged as an environmental nuisance by the government. Among those arrested were three female teenagers and 90 males.
The task force Chairman, Mr Akeem Adedeji, a Superintendent of Police, said the move was to check the increase in crime rate and the flagrant disregard for the law. Adedeji, who revealed that most of the suspects were between ages 12 and 15, said the suspects would be screened, while the teenagers would be taken to juvenile homes in the state.
Adedeji said, “We won’t back down. This arrest will serve as a clear warning to those bent on fomenting trouble and other law breakers that government will not condone indiscipline and environmental nuisance. There is no hiding place for law breakers in Lagos.
“We are also clamping down on street traders on major highways. Many of them have become armed robbers. We are getting complaints from the residents and motorists. The Lagos State Government frowns on street trading, begging and touting .”
Adedeji said the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration was committed to the protection of lives and property to attract more investors and make life easy for the residents.
Culled from Punch