Okada Rider strips naked to dodge arrest in Lagos

The clash between law enforcement agents and commercial bike riders in Lagos state seems to be on going. Yesterday horrified passersby watched as a man called Sunday Udoh, 38, stripped himself naked to evade arrest by law enforcement agents for violating the new Lagos State Traffic Law. Udoh who is a commercial motorcyclist, was conveying a passenger on ACME road, Ikeja, one of the 475 roads that commercial motorcyclists are restricted from operating, according to the new Lagos Traffic Law at about 10.00 a.m on Monday. Bayo Sulaiman, chairman, Lagos State Task Force for Special Offences, said: “Our enforcement team caught up with Udoh operating on ACME road this morning. As our patrol vehicle approached him, he jumped off his motorcycle, not minding the safety of his passenger, and stripped himselfnaked. He obviously acted that way to draw public sympathy and evade arrest. But, I can tell you that he is now with us and he will becharged to court tomorrow (today).” Sulaiman added that the agency would not succumb to unnecessary sentiments in enforcing the traffic law and advised commercial motorcyclists to desist from violating the Lagos traffic law and stay off the banned routes. “We have stepped up our enforcement of the law and we are warning those who intend to violate the law to stay off the banned routes in their own interest. “We have made a few arrests and seized a good number of motorcycles,” he concluded. The Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola had on August 2 signed the Lagos Road Traffic Bill into law which restrict motorcyclist on 475 roads out of the almost 9000 roads in Lagos State. Hear, See, and Say it Hear, See, and Say it