Policemen, okada riders in bloody clash in Calabar

Hundreds of commercial motorcycle riders, popularly known as okada, in the 8 Miles area of Calabar on Tuesday engaged in a bloody clash with the police.

The Okada riders embarked on public protest in the neighborhood, condemning high-handedness of the policemen.

During the face-off, many of the Okada riders sustained bruises when they struggled to block the policemen from confiscating their motorcycles.

They lamented that the policemen in enforcing order of the Inspector General of Police to impound vehicles and motorcycles without registration, they also inflicted injuries on them.

The protesting Okada riders complained that they do not violate any rules, and only ply inner roads, and should not have been harassed and manhandled by the policemen.

One of the Okada riders who gave his name as Timothy Ekpe said, “What the policemen are doing to us is anti-people. We are not violating any of the traffic rules to warrant this harassment by the policemen.

“As they seize our motorcycles which are the sources of our livelihoods do they expect us to go and steal?”

In his statement on the enforcement of the impoundment, police PRO, ASP Eitokpah Sunday Akata said “The exercise is aimed at enhancing public safety, improving vehicle identification, and denying criminal elements the anonymity often associated with unregistered, altered, defaced, or concealed registration plates.”

He said the state police Command is committee to intelligence-led, proactive, and community-focused policing.

He urged members of the public to comply with all traffic and vehicle registration regulations, as the enforcement exercise will continue across the State.