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Nigerians condemn arrest of “Okada riders from the North” in Lagos
The Lagos State Government on Friday announced that it has “intercepted a truck laden with 48 motorcycles and 123 men coming from Jigawa State”.
“The truck was seized, following a tip-off by members of the public who raised security concern about the manner with which the occupants of the truck conducted themselves,” the state government said in a statement on Twitter.
The statement continued:
After the interception, the truck and its occupants were moved to the office of the Taskforce in Oshodi for interrogation.
One of the detained occupants, Shuaibu Haruna, said he left Jigawa State to work in Lagos with his motorcycle. He claimed to have a wife and a son, but said he needed to double his income to cater for his family.
Arrest of illegal mass movement of Okada riders to Lagos from the North jointly coordinated by the State Commissioner for The Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tunji Bello and his Transportation counterpart, Dr. Abimbola Oladehinde.
The statement also shared “confession” video of the “mastermind of the operation”.
Update on mass movement of Okada riders to Lagos:
Confession by the mastermind of the operation #LASG #ForAGreaterLagos @jidesanwoolu pic.twitter.com/QyM3uwnj7H— The Lagos State Govt (@followlasg) August 30, 2019
Social media users have criticised the government for the action. See tweets below:
The is wrong on all levels and stands condemnable as there are so many okada/taxi riders & drivers from the south doing business in the north without being arrested. The lagos state Gov should look into and review this case. https://t.co/zAT6dPvO0w
— Sadiq (@SadiqSaniSami) August 31, 2019
Sorry i actually dont understand, are Okada riders foreigners? Or some sort of ethnic group I don’t know about? You mean Nigerian men riding motorcycles cannot move to another state? Nigerians are so fucked. https://t.co/X9BWgVbGl6
— Ozzy Etomi (@ozzyetomi) August 31, 2019
“Illegal mass movement”? 123 people? What if they had come by air? How many people are on flights to Lagos every hour? Is it because they are poor? The things that damage our country the most are those things we initially laugh about or play politics with. #ThisIsWrong! https://t.co/jxvphS0ug6
— Dr. Joe Abah (@DrJoeAbah) August 31, 2019
There's something deeply, deeply troubling about this – when did being "Okada riders….from the North" become an offence? Criminalising identity & poverty is fast becoming a norm in #Nigeria. That's a 1-way street to mutual destruction. https://t.co/VEswGZW2hr
— Chidi Odinkalu (@ChidiOdinkalu) August 31, 2019
You need to read the tweet you responded to again sir.
it says, "Arrest of ILLEGAL mass movement of okada riders to Lagos from the North".
Please, what exactly is illegal in northerners going to Lagos enmasse?
What law have they broken?
Kindly enlighten.
Thank you.
?— #DoubtlessThouArtMyFather (Isaiah 63:16) (@harrydaniyan) August 31, 2019
Photo Credit: @followlasg
