Ajao Estate residents want community included in ‘Okada’ ban list

Residents of Ajao Estate in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area, on Thursday, appealed to the Lagos State Government to include their community in the `Okada’ (commercial motorcycle) ban list.
The concerned residents under the aegis of Ajao Estate Central Community Development Association staged a peaceful protest to the State Secretariat in Ikeja.
They appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to ban commercial motorcycle operations in their community.
Addressing State House Correspondents, the Chairman of the association, Chief Martins Adegboyega, said that the ban would forestall “security breach” in the neighbourhood.
Adegboyega said that residents of the estate could no longer sleep well as a result of fear and insecurity arising from uncontrolled operations of commercial motorcyclists.
He said that the presence of `Okada’ in the community was an unwarranted invasion, as the residents of Ajao Estate were no longer safe with the continuous operations of Okada in the community.
The chairman said that the residents of the estate unanimously agreed on the move and wanted Lagos Government to ban Okada operations in their neighbourhood.
In the petition sent to the governor and signed by the residents’ Legal Adviser, Chief Leo Ikeagwu, it noted that the estate had been taken over by criminals in the guise of Okada riders.
”Their activities had been banned in the estate since 2015 after they engaged the police in a fight. These criminal elements are back in our community in full force.
”We have watched helplessly the influx of Okada riders, who, to our dismay, now block the entrance into Ajao Estate from Ejigbo, causing heavy traffic and security breaches.
”Bag snatching is now on the increase and pedestrians are now in fear.
”It is worthy to note that an eight-year-old boy was recently kidnapped by some criminal elements who used Okada to operate.
“But, for the quick intervention of some vigilant security guards, who blocked the entrance gate; it would have been a different story entirely,” the petition read.
In the petition, the residents humbly request an immediate action that would be put in place to continuously check the influx of Okada riders, so they could be at peace once again.
It noted that the residents, in a meeting with the Local Government chairman and the House of Representatives member, agreed that Okada riders should not be allowed into Ajao Estate again to curb further criminal activities.
“We want to state that shuttle buses and Keke NAPEP are in place to convey passengers from the Airport Road to Ejigbo Link Bridge to and fro.
“Okada riders have no business whatsoever in Ajao Estate,” it stated.