Youths threaten Lagos over planned crushing of 4,000 motorcyles

Unemployed youth in Lagos have warned of a dare consequence if the state government goes ahead to crush more than 4,000 impounded commercial motorcycles from their owners.

The government, in a statement on Monday, said it had concluded plans to commence the crushing and recycling of the motocycles, it seized from those, who allegedly contravened the state traffic law between January, 2015 and December 2016.

Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said the recent clampdown on Okada riders across the state was a fall out of the government’s resolve to address the security concerns posed by their operations.

He said the fact that criminals are also using the motorcycles to ease their operation, which adds to crime rate in the state makes the means of transportation illegal.

But youths from various parts of the state said the idea of crushing such number of motorcycles runs contrary to the claim by the government of pursuing policy that could reduce unemployment rate in the state.

A spokesman of the youths, Mr Kunle Olukanmi, who said he was recently retrenched by Dunlop Industry before taking to commercial motocycle business, said the exercise would provoke crime rather than solve it.

“By accepting that the state had impounded more than 4,000 motorcyles translates to dislodging more than 4,000 self-employed people from their legitimate means of surviving the harsh economy.

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“Unless the government is giving room for stealing and other crimes, it should discontinue with the idea of destroying seized motorcycles. Failure to listen to this our plea will be met with other actions that will not be to the best interest of the government.”

He said his group had made representation to the authorities adding that the total costs of the motorbikes to be destroyed is about N1.5 billion.

However, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr Caster Bade-Ajibade said no amount of threat would change the already concluded plans to have the motorcycles crushed at Olusosun Dumpsite site at Ojota.

“It is not going to be a one-off exercise so long as the riders keep coming out to the banned expressways.”

According to him, the decision to crush and recycle the impounded motorcycles was in accordance with the provision of the law, adding that mobile courts had been instituted to try arrested offenders.

He said operators of the commercial motorcycles and those patronising them when arrested will have their fate decided by mobile courts.

 

 

 

 

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