Ban On Okada Still In Force, Lagos State Government Warns

The Lagos State Government has warned that ban on commercial operation of Okada in the state on restricted routes and the State’s highways is still in force, adding that anyone caught will be prosecuted.

It would be recalled that in May 2022, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, banned the operations of commercial motorcycles in six Local Government Areas indefinitely.

The six local governments are: Ikeja, Surulere, Eti-Osa, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island, and Apapa. This is in line with the State’s Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018.

“After a critical review of our restriction on Okada activities in the first six Local Government Areas where we restricted them on February 1, 2020, we have seen that the menace has not abated. We are now directing a total ban on Okada activities across the highways and bridges within these six Local Government and their Local Council Development Areas, effective from June 1, 2022.

“This is a phased ban we are embarking on this period, and we expect that within the short while when this ban will be enforced, Okada riders in other places where their activities are yet to be banned can find something else to do. We have given the notice now and we expect all commercial motorcycles plying the routes in the listed councils and areas to vacate the highways before enforcement begins. The enforcement will be total,” Sanwo-Olu had said.

In August 2022, the ban was extended to Kosofe, Oshodi-Isolo, Somolu and Mushin as well as in the six Local Council Development Areas under the four Local Government Areas.

Despite the ban, Okada operators have continued to operate illegally in the 10 Local Government Areas, causing all manner of problems for road users.

“The ban on commercial operation of Okada on restricted routes and all the state’s highways is still very much in place, therefore no one who is caught still operating will be spared.

“We are sounding this note of warning to every Okada operator and their passengers who think they are sacred cows that cannot be touched. It will no longer be business as usual. Anyone caught operating commercially along the restricted corridors will face the court,” Chairman of the Lagos State Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit, CSP. Shola Jejeloye warned in a notice shared on the State’s social media handles on Sunday.