Okada Riders Raise Alarm Over Incessant Killings, Bike Snatching

COMMERCIAL motorcyclists, known as Okada riders in Osun State, have raised the alarm over incessant attack on them by armed robbers who kill riders or snatch their motorcycles in different parts of the state. 

According to the Okada riders, there have been an upsurge in cases of bike snatching and killing of motorcyclists in 2023. 

The commercial motorcyclists, in different interviews with OSUN DEFENDER on Wednesday, said all of them were operating with fear. 

The motorcyclists noted the incessant attacks on them have hindered their operations, calling on security operatives in the state to protect them. 

The bike snatchers, according to some of the motorcyclists, use various dangerous weapons to carry out their heinous crimes. 

A motorcyclist, Suleiman Ajadi, said the attackers sometimes mount Okada to a destination where they feel safe to either harm the rider or snatch the bike. 

He noted that many of his colleagues have either lost their lives or motorcycles and in some cases both. 

Ajadi said: “The rate at which these criminals operate is alarming. We commercial motorcyclists are now living in fear. It has become headache for us to work at night. We have lost many of our members to bike snatching. 

“We appeal to all security agencies in the state to wade in and curtail this menace.”

Speaking with the medium, the head of the cycle sector in Osun State, Comrade Sikiru Oyeniyi, known as Ado-Igbona, decried the incessant murdering of members of the union, most especially the Okada riders by suspected ritualists.

Oyeniyi said 27 members of the union have been gruesomely murdered since he assumed office in January 2023.

He appealed to members of the union to stop operating early in the morning and late at night, maintaining that most of the crimes were committed during odd hours. 

Oyeniyi also urged the Okada riders to be very vigilant and avoid taking passengers to secluded areas, especially during the night. 

He said: “Working late at night and early in the morning is very risky for our members. The evil people mostly perpetrate their acts during these periods because they know it would be difficult during the day. 

“Since I assumed office as the Chairman of the Cycle Sector in January 2023, about 27 of our members have been killed by this devilish people across the state and we are not happy about the situation. 

“I want to appeal to our members to be very vigilant and try as much as possible not to carry passengers to secluded areas at night. I know the money offered might be enticing sometimes but we have to consider our lives first. 

“The security agencies have been trying and some arrests have been made but I want to appeal to them to help us more. Our men need protection. We don’t want any of our members to die unfortunately again.”

The Public Relations Officer of Osun State Police Command, Yemisi Opalola, urged the Okada riders to desist from working at night. 

Opalola while speaking with OSUN DEFENDER noted that some suspects have been arrested in connection with motorcycle theft in the state, adding that efforts were ongoing to arrest more perpetrators.  

She said: “We have told them (Okada riders) not to work early in the morning and late at night again. One has to study the environment and situation of things. With what is happening, they have to be very careful.

“We have arrested and paraded some people  in connection with bike snatching and we have also returned some of the bikes to their owners. We are working to arrest more of those perpetrators.

“I want to urge the Okada riders to also be vigilant and not allow criminals to infiltrate them; so that our effort to fish out the criminal will not be in vain.”

How We Snatch Motorcycle – Suspects

Some of the suspected bike snatchers recently paraded by the police are; Idowu Olaide (47), Abubakar Bello (30), Abubakar Usman (31) and Mustapha Yinusa (22).

Olaide while speaking with OSUN DEFENDER disclosed that he and other suspects usually hit their victims with a plank on the head and run away with their bikes.

He said: “A friend of mine named Kunle whom I met in Lagos when he came to work as a bricklayer was the one who invited me to come and join him to steal motorcycles in Osogbo. 

“My friend told me that I should flag down a bike man that once I do that, he will smash the person’s head with a plank and that we will take the bike and run with it while the bike man is in pain. 

“He told me the bike man might be shouting thief and calling for help but I should not be scared. When we got to the area, we flagged a bike man and immediately he stopped, my friend hit him with the plank.

“I picked the motorcycle and my friend joined me but the bikeman was shouting and he alerted residents of the area who in turn came after us. 

“I dropped the machine due to fear and we both ran in different directions. I was later apprehended because I didn’t know the route but my friend escaped.”