Сommercial
motorcycle riders, better known as Okada riders, on Thursday, July
23, paralysed commercial activities in Akure, Ondo state, for over four
hours over alleged extortion by the state government.
According to Vanguard, the union chairman, Jimoh Obabi, tried to pacify the riders but he was turned down as they shouted him down and continued to march through Akure metropolis.
As the Okada riders blocked all major roads in the metropolis, lots
of people had to abandon their vehicles and walk to reach their
destinations. The protestors were against the government decision that
obliges them to collect new commercial number plates.
When the policemen led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police ACP and some soldiers from the 32 Artillery Brigade Nigerian Army Owena Cantonment tried to interven the protesters, they rebuffed.
The protest started at the state Ministry of Transport and spread across the metropolis leaving motorists to trekking long distances. Commercial taxi drivers were harassed by the protesters and their passengers were forced to disembarked and made to trek to their destinations.
According to Vanguard, the union chairman, Jimoh Obabi, tried to pacify the riders but he was turned down as they shouted him down and continued to march through Akure metropolis.
Okada riders protesting in Ondo. Credit: Vanguard
When the policemen led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police ACP and some soldiers from the 32 Artillery Brigade Nigerian Army Owena Cantonment tried to interven the protesters, they rebuffed.
The protest started at the state Ministry of Transport and spread across the metropolis leaving motorists to trekking long distances. Commercial taxi drivers were harassed by the protesters and their passengers were forced to disembarked and made to trek to their destinations.
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