….battle ready to sustain the achievements recorded in time past
….massive clamp down on okada riders at 2nd rainbow,other areas will be visited soonest
The Lagos State Taskforce has revealed its intelligence and surveillance gathering around the Metropilis in recent times has shown that Okada riders who had been banned from operating on the States Highways and restricted routes last year are returning to those routes gradually just after the recently concluded Salah (Ileya) festival to continue their illegality
This information was made public by the Chairman of the Agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye at the Headquarters, Bolade, Oshodi where he described the actions of the incorrigible okada operators as an effort in futility. He stated that the Agency is not unaware of the influx of illegal aliens from neighbouring countries who trooped into the City right after the Ileya celebrations to resume operations on restricted routes despite the ban on their activities still being in full force.
“Some of the okada operators who had their bikes confiscated in the past have returned to Lagos from to resume their illegal operations. We have undercover operatives who monitor various locations across the State and we have it on good authority that these illegal Commercial Motorcycle Operators are back to kick off their okada business but we are battle ready for them”
The Chairman disclosed that Lagos is a metropolis that welcomes various individuals of different tribes, ethnicity and nationality but some unscrupulous elemente are trying to take advantage of that opportunity to perpetrate their illegal activities at the detriment of well meaning Lagosians. Foreigners who engage in legitimate business in the city are always welcomed but the Agency frowns at illegal aliens or criminals who perform illegalities one of which is riding okada on restricted routes across the State.
Jejeloye reiterated that the ban on the activities of okada and in six LGAs and nine LCDAs was in line with the State’s Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018 which aims to maintain the State’s Mega City status as enshrined in the THEMES agenda of the present administration, therefore no recalcitrant okada operator would be allowed to truncate the efforts of the State Government.
“We have recorded numerous success stories since the ban across board, ranging from drop in crime rate, reduction in traffic bottlenecks occasioned by their recklessness to reduction in accidents cases reported in the orthopedic hospitals in Lagos. Its our duty and responsibility to ensure that these agents of anarchy are not allowed to return to the Highways and we will make sure any operator caught would be made to face the music”.
Available security reports suggest that we should be expecting more influx of them after farming/raining season, but our strategic and security antenna put in place will fish them out and their bikes will be impounded.
It is high time they tow the line of best practices and imbibe the belief that crime is not a career before it is too late.
Meanwhile, Today, 12th July 2023, the Agency carried out a massive clampdown on okada riders operating at 2nd rainbow along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, several okadas were impounded in the process, and the operation was hitch free.
CSP Jejeloye urged Lagosians to continue utilizing alternative and safer means of transportations as the clamp down on okada operations will be full blown. He reminded commuters that passengers who patronize okada operators are also as culpable as the rider and passenger would both be made to face the full wrath of the law.
*Gbadeyan Abdulraheem*
Director, Press & Public Affairs
Lagos State Taskforce
Usman Ododo defeats Smart Adeyemi as Omisore, Lukman fight dirty
The Federal High Court, Abuja on Wednesday dismissed a suit filed by a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, Smart Adeyemi against the emergence of Usman Ododo as the party’s candidate at the last primary election.
In the suit marked: FHC/CS/556/2023 in Smart Adeyemi v. APC & 2 Ors, the plaintiffs urged the court to nullify the primary of the APC for Kogi governorship election which produced Ododo as the candidate for the election scheduled for November.
They described the direct primary election conducted by APC which produced Ododo as the governorship candidate of the party as illegal. Amongst others, they alleged that the election of Ododo ran foul of Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution.
They also asked the court for an order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission to reject and refuse to recognise Ododo as APC’s governorship candidate.
Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho held that the suit lacked merit and substance.
The court held that Adeyemi’s allegations were criminal in nature as he alleged that elections did not hold and that the produced results were forged.
He said the applicant needed to prove the allegations of forgery, and falsification of results, beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to the court, Senator Adeyemi had the burden of proof to produce the forged result or both the original and the forged results, and failure to discharge the burden “is fatal to the case of the applicant.”
Justice Omotosho also held that the allegation that the election did not hold was also not substantiated as the applicant only provided evidence from his Ward in Ijumu LGA.
He said, in any case, the evidence was denied by the respondents who attached the monitoring reports of the electoral commission.
“In this case, INEC attached its monitoring report and also attached copies of the result, police report confirming the conduct of the election signed by the Commissioner of Police, the case of the Applicant has no basis.”
He said, “In the final analysis, having reviewed all the evidence in this matter, I have no doubt that the APC primary election was held in all the wards of Kogi State on the 14th day of April 2023.”
“This Honourable Court will not allow the will of a few just like that of the applicant to override the will of the majority. The applicant’s case has no merit. It is hereby dismissed.”
Consequently, the Justice dismissed the case for lack of merit.
Meanwhile, the National Secretary of All Progressives Congress, Senator Iyiola Omisore, on Tuesday night described the National Vice Chairman of North-West, Mallam Salihu Lukman, as a loose canon and the ‘black sheep’ of the party.
Omisore spoke on Channels Television’s programme, ‘Politics Today’.
He described the National Vice Chairman for North-West as a gas lighter who liked crying wolf where there was none.
“What else do you want us to do to him? Beat or kill him? When you listen to people like Lukman, you won’t know what is happening. This Lukman that doesn’t attend meetings is acting like a loose canon.
“The NWC members are 25 and only one person, Lukman, has written so many letters, which bothered on ignorance on his part. About two months ago, he came to apologise and held a press conference to say he wasn’t well informed about what he did. All he said were things done within the party. He never attends party meetings,” Omisore said.
When asked if he was aware many APC supporters and NWC members wanted Adamu to be kicked out of the party, Omisore dismissed the report.
He also berated those secretly backing or standing by Lukman’s philosophy, saying they were ‘cowards.’
“We are not aware of any. But know that they are cowards too. There are cowards everywhere. So it is not impossible. But the point is that out of 25 members of the NWC, only one person is the ‘black sheep.’
“He is just used to doing the ranting. There is nothing special about it. This was somebody who came to apologise openly at a press conference. How can you take someone like that seriously?” he quipped.
