Gunshots as police officers, okada riders clash in Lagos

Gunshots were fired on Friday when motorcycle riders and police officers clashed in the Oke-Ira area of Ogba, Lagos state.

Residents told TheCable that a police officer had boarded one of the motorcycles on Thursday and refused to pay the rider when he got to his destination. This was said to have attracted other riders who insisted that the police officer must pay for the ride.

The situation subsequently escalated into a disagreement and two of the riders were reportedly shot.

The riders were said to have mobilised themselves to the police station in the area on Friday morning to burn the building, but they were repelled.

The clash had caused pandemonium in the area as residents, shop owners, and passers-by scampered for safety.

A resident told TheCable that normalcy has been restored and commercial activities have resumed in the area — but the motorcycle riders are no longer on the roads.

On Thursday, the task force had raided Yaba, Oyingbo, and Surulere areas of the state to confiscate motorcycles plying the major highways and restricted routes.

The officers also retrieved dangerous weapons from some of the riders who tried to attack them.

On April 26, several persons were injured and some feared dead when members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and motorcycle riders clashed in the Iyano-Iba area of the state.