Police kills okada rider in Lagos

Policemen in Lagos State have killed a commercial motorcycle operator and injured another in the bid to enforce the ban on the operation of okada riders on some routes in the state.
While a policeman attached to Alakuko Police Station shot and killed an okada rider, policemen around the Ogba/Pen Cinema axis, in a patrol vehicle, rammed another into a gutter, injuring him seriously.
It was learnt that the killing of the okada rider at Kolington Bus Stop on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, has resulted in a protest.
It was gathered that the policeman attached to the Alakuko Police Station, allegedly shot dead the okada rider, simply identified as Alagede, on Tuesday morning.
The policeman, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, was said to be enforcing the Lagos State restriction on okada riders along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.


It was gathered that the policeman shot Alagede for allegedly refusing to obey his order to stop.
It was further gathered that following the shooting, several okada riders and hoodlums in the area took to the street, vandalising Lagos State owned buses and other property.
The unrest is said to have caused motorists and passers by, including shop owners, to flee the area as okada riders were said to have threatened to burn down the Alakuko Police Station.
The okada riders were also alleged to be hunting for policemen as they vented their anger and chanted abuses at the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, and the police.
The area is said to be tense at the moment.
It was the same situation at the Ogba/Pen Cinema axis as some other okada riders have taken their injured colleague in a cart to the Pen Cinema Police Station.
They are demanding that the police should foot the bill for the treatment of their injured colleague.
Policemen of the Rapid Response Squad have taken over the entire area to maintain the peace.
The Pen Cinema Police Station is also heavily guarded as at the time of filing this report.