Terrorism And Insurgency: Kaduna To Ban “Okada” Too

Commercial motorbikers in Kaduna

By SaharaReporters, New York

A top security operative in Kaduna State has told SaharaReporters that the state’s body in charge of security matters has finally decided to ban commercial motorcycle riders in major urban areas as part of a new strategy to combat terrorist attacks.
“The decision by the Kaduna State Security Council to outlaw ‘Okada’ motorcycle riders was taken as another measure to contain the kinds of terrorism and insurgency getting a foothold in Kaduna and Zaria towns,” said the source.
The source, a member of the Security Council, told our correspondent that the council made the decision at yesterday’s session at Kaduna Government House. The meeting was chaired by Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna.
The source revealed that the council was concerned that bandits and suspected terrorists were infiltrating Kaduna from neighboring states that had banned motorcycles as a form of commercial transport. He cited a rise in the number of attacks carried out by people riding bikes in Kaduna and Zaria towns.
In addition to Kaduna and Zaria, the ban on “Okada” will also be implemented in Kafanchan, another hot sport in southern Kaduna area. Our source said the Security Council was preparing a bill to be sent to the Kaduna State House of Assembly in due course.
The Nigeria news sources have quoted the state’s Commissioner of Information, Saidu Abdullahi Adamu, as confirming the plan to ban “Okada.” “It is all about the issue of security,” said Mr. Adamu. “We are all aware; we don't even need to be told. The menace and the security threat these motor cycles are creating, not only in Kaduna but everywhere in Nigeria, cannot be overemphasized.
We are all aware of what is happening, how some elements are using these motorcycles to foment trouble, to commit murder. We know, of course, that there could be some hardship here and there, knowing fully that some of the nooks and crannies that a motor cycle can move in, a tricycle cannot, or a taxi or bus. But notwithstanding, we have to look at the issue of security and the way some of these motorcycles are been used to cause a lot of troubles, a lot of insecurity.”