Okada riders in Enugu risk one year in Prison after ban

The Enugu State government has said that the law prohibiting the use of commercial motorcycles in the capital is still in force.

It warned that violators can be imprisoned for one year and still lose their motorcycles to the government.

The Commissioner for Special Duties, Hon. Emeka Ajogwu gave the warning in a statement on Thursday.

Ajogwu said that the government had already constituted a task force that would arrest and prosecute those violating the law.

According to him, the government was worried about the growing outcry by members of the public on the indiscriminate use of motorcycles in the city centre.

He warned that the government would not helplessly watch the indiscriminate use of motorcycles. He reminded the public that the law was still much in operation as offenders risked one-year imprisonment and forfeiture of their motorcycles. 

He said, “The State Government has observed with grave concern the growing and indiscriminate use of motorcycles by some outlaws in the capital city even when they are aware that there is an existing law prohibiting that.

“Our office has received a series of enquiries from members of the public expressing fears over their safety due to the reckless manner in which these offenders are driving their motorcycles within the Enugu metropolis.”

He warned that such illegal acts must cease henceforth as violators of “our laws will be dealt with according to the provisions of the extant law”.

“The state has set up a committee to curb this illegality and punish offenders.

“For the avoidance of doubt, section 3 and section 4 of the Operation of Motorcycles (Prohibition) Law, 2012, prohibit the use of motorcycles in all its forms in Enugu North, Enugu South and Enugu East local government areas of the state, and prescribe the punishment for offenders.

“Therefore, we shall not hesitate to enforce this law to the letters. Members of the public, especially the violators are hereby warned accordingly to desist from the criminal act,” he stated.

The then-Governor Sullivan Chime promulgated a law banning the operation of commercial motorcycles in the state capital on July 3, 2012, after signing into law, a bill banning operations of motorcycles.

“As a government, we made efforts to streamline the operations of the genuine operators but these efforts, unfortunately, had not been fruitful because crime rate rose and most of the crimes were facilitated by the use of motorcycles by evil-minded persons.

“It got so bad that the law enforcement agencies officially requested the ban of motorcycles because of the menace of the men of the underworld who have been using them to perpetrate crimes. As a responsive and responsible government, we have enacted this law in the best interest of all of us,” Chime had said.