The Lagos State Police Command says riders and their passengers caught on commercial motorcyclists in the six Local Government Areas affected by the recent okada ban will be arrested.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Benjamin Hundeyin made the clarification in a tweet on Saturday evening.
He said that passengers that plead ignorance of the directive would not be spared.
Recall that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu placed an okada ban on six local government areas of the state – Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Surulere, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, and Apapa – earlier in the week.
In his directive of May 18, the governor stated that the okada ban also extended to all LCDAs under the listed councils as well as all major roads, highways and bridges.
The governor charged security agencies to enforce the total ban in the affected areas.
However, since the governor’s announcement, there have been a debate on whether or not passengers would be arrested alongside the riders of impounded motorcycles.
Giving a clarification on the matter, Hundeyin tweeted, “Under the new total ban of motorcycles in six local government areas of Lagos State, passengers and riders alike will be arrested and prosecuted.
“The passenger is an accomplice. Ignorance will not be an excuse!”