Nmutaka Chikwendu, a
resident of Lagos, on Thursday, narrated how he was arrested by the police for
driving a power bike.
The state government
had enforced the restriction of commercial tricycles and motorcycles in 15
local councils on February 1.
The restriction has
been generating different reactions, with many accusing the government of
failing to provide alternative plans to mitigate the effect of the ban on
commuters.
Chikwendu, who took
to Facebook to narrate his experience, said he was on his way to work when he
was arrested by the police for allegedly flouting the law.
Consequently, a
large crowd had gathered to defend him while querying the police if power bikes
were also included in the ban.
He noted that the
officers could not respond to this but maintained that “they sent us signal to
arrest all bikes”, even after “a good Samaritan” showed them the state
government’s broadcast on the ban which they allegedly refused to read.
“So…..I was heading
to work this morning dodging massive potholes and meandering through heavy
traffic. The Nigerian Police decided to arrest me because ‘bikes are banned’,”
he wrote.
“The 2 things that
stood out for me the most were: 1. The speed with which a huge crowd built up.
Within a short while people were yelling at the cops. “Is this one okada”?
“How unintelligent
our cops are. A team of 4 senior officers with guns could not say anything
meaningful beyond “they sent us signal to arrest all bikes”.
“A good Samaritan
parked his car…showed them the broadcast sent by Lagos state police command.
They refused to read it. He then called the numbers in the broadcast and the
policemen refused to speak with their superiors.
“The man put his
phone on speaker and we could all hear the police command asking if it was
okada and the whole crowed roared “No!” Our street crew cops refused to budge.”
Chukwendu said the
“Samaritan” eventually called the divisional police officer (DPO) of Ifako
police station who ordered them to release him while the crowd refused to leave
until the order was effected.
“They started
looking for one Officer Ojo of Ifako police station who took my bike key and
went away,” Chukwendu said.
“Crowd kept
building…..policemen became scared. Tried to disperse crowd. People refused to
budge. I actually started getting worried and started asking people to leave.
They said they wouldn’t move until I was released.
“Eventually the Ojo
fellow sauntered out with my key and I started my bike….revved it a few times
which drew cheers from the crowd…..and continued heading to work.”
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