Renewed Quest for Public Order on Lagos Roads

The recent brutal murder and setting ablaze of a 37-year-old sound engineer, David Umoh, by some commercial motorcycle operators, has compelled the Lagos State Government to ban their operations in six local councils as part of the efforts to end the reign of impunity and rascality on Lagos roads, Gboyega Akinsanmi reports

The morning after some religious extremists went wild in Sokoto State, Lagos had its own share of mob violence. Unlike Deborah Yakubu that was stoned to death in the northern city for alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad, commercial motorcycle operators, believed to be largely of northern extraction, summarily terminated of a 37-year-old sound engineer, David Umoh over a trump-up allegation that he was a ritualist. As eyewitness accounts later revealed, the allegation was purely a tissue of lies. The ugly incident was said to have started as an argument between Umoh and a commercial motorcycle operator that brought him to Lekki for a public engegement. Argument ensued because none of them was willing to part with a balance of N100.

Rather than finding a way to settle his passenger, according to reports, the rider mobilised other operators  to fight his cause. This led to a situation in which the riders intentionally framed Umoh as a ritualist, and snuffed life out of him within the space of few minutes.

 Already, the police have arrested 11 suspects involved directly or indirectly in the murder of the sound engineer. 

There was a sudden twist last week, which triggered public concerns in nearly all parts of the state on likelihood of the case being compromised by the police, following the claim by one Adio Oluwole Bashir, who described himself as an operative of the Department of State Services (DSS). Bashir claimed that he had resigned from the service amid controversies that trailed Umoh’s death. In a two-page statement that triggered public apprehension last week, he documented how he claimed to have led intelligence officers that investigated the killing of Umoh. He also narrated how the prime suspects were successfully tracked and eventually arrested, and  how some important personalities from the North called him to compromise the facts of the case and release the suspects unconditionally.

Bashir also alleged that he was eventually redeployed to Borno State due to his refusal to compromise the case.  He further alleged that there were plots to replace the prime suspects with the new ones, who he claimed, were not connected to the case.

 But the spokesman of the DSS, Dr. Peter Afunanya disputed these claims on three grounds. In the first instance, he claimed, Bashir is neither a serving nor retired staff on its payroll. Also, he claimed, Bashir’s writing style shows that he is an impostor. Finally, he claimed that findings revealed that Bashir was likely to be a member of separatist groups that wanted to ignite ethno-religious conflicts.

Despite the clarifications of the DSS, public concerns have remained unabated. Grace, the wife of the victim, is now crying for justice alongside her children. Like her in-laws and relatives, she wanted the killers of her husband to face the wrath of the law. Civil society organisations (CSOs), in their good numbers, are mounting pressure on the state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, demanding daily briefings on the investigation and prosecution of Umoh’s killers as a way to prevent the case from being compromised.

 The reasons for this mounting public tension are not far-fetched. Umoh was not the first victim of commercial motorcyclists’ jungle justice in Lagos, though his case might be the most despicable of all cases. In March 2016, for instance, an okada rider hit a pregnant woman in Mile 12. He also declined the request to take the woman to the hospital in the neighboorhoods. Eventually, the victim gave up the ghost after some days. The report of her death triggered a tribal conflict that claimed no fewer than 12 lives and houses burnt.

In December 2016, also, a senior officer of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Olatunji Bakare was another victim of violence perpetrated by these motorcycle operators. His assailants clubbed Bakare to death in Apapa without regard for his uniform. In September 2021, Kazeem Abunde, a Chief Superintendent of Police, was murdered like a criminal in Ajao Estate for no other offence than trying to enforce public order. In 2021, a destitute was killed and set ablaze around Alakija/Abule Ado axis of Lagos-Badagry Expressway by these commercial motorcyclists, who claimed that they saw suspected armed robbers handing over AK-47 rifles to her. When the structure that served as her shelter was searched, no weapon or any incriminating material was found.  

In most these incidents, suspects were arrested. In some of the cases, charges were filed. However, according to some prosecutors, the facts of the cases often suffered distortion, which made the prosecution of the suspects difficult, if not impossible. In a few cases, as a former chief law officer of the state had revealed on condition of anonymity, the prime suspects were replaced with some convicts already serving jail terms.

In other cases, a former lawmaker claimed that northern leaders hired very senior lawyers to defend the suspects and frustrate their trial. These previous incidents, obviously, justified the public apprehension that the killers of Umoh might escape justice following the claims and counter-claims of DSS and Bashir. As the members of the public clamour for justice, there seems to be a consensus among Lagos residents on the need for absolute enforcement of the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law, 2018 statewide rather than enforcement in six local councils. Under Part III, the law essentially prohibited commercial motorcycle operation from 475 highways out of 9,100 roads across the state.

While it restricts their movement to 10:00 p.m., the law prohibits them from operating on all bridges, Lagos Island and Victoria Island. Consistent with the law, the demand for outright enforcement has been justified due to three reasons, so as to restore public order and safety in the metropolis.

First, the loss of lives resulting from okada accidents is unacceptable. Statistical evidence, which the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso recently released, lends more credence to this concern. Between January and April, okada accidents alone accounted for about 44.8 per cent of accidents recorded in Lagos metropolis.

As these statistics further revealed, the victims of okada crashes are largely youths, who are between the ages of 30 and 39. If the trend continues, according to Omotoso, the state will continue to lose a good number of its productive population to okada crashes. On this ground, most stakeholders are challenging the state government to enforce traffic law in all its local councils.

Second, evidence from nearly all the police divisions statewide revealed strong correlation between armed robbery and okada operation in Lagos metropolis. A number of residents have fallen prey to this criminal network in different parts of the state. As security reports showed, some were robbed of their personal effects while those who resisted them were killed as a consequence. As intelligence reports showed, okada operators largely contribute to the state’s volatile security environment. At least, 80 per cent of them comprise an army of teenagers, who are aggressive, lawless and unlettered. Aside, according to reports, most of the operators are under the school age.

 As shown in the recent report of the International Crisis Group, some left their home states to escape the adverse effects of climate change on the one hand. The report also explained how armed violence had forced many of them to flee from their conflict-ridden states and countries – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal to seek greener pastures in Nigeria.

As shown in the state’s crime statistics, they are frequently linked with criminality, robbery and mob violence. This has been a major source of concern given the way criminal elements in their ranks have been undermining the state from discharging its responsibilities as stipulated under Section 4(7) of the 1999 Constitution.

Third, as indicated in a 2020 study by Danne Institute for Research and Financial Derivatives, okada operation is obviously a catalyst for intractable traffic congestion in Lagos metropolis. Consequently, it has a huge economic costs for the state and its real sectors. At least, as the study showed, the state government annually loses a whopping sum of N3.83 trillion, which.essentially stems from the implication of the state’s gnawing gridlock.

With these grave consequences, can Sanwo-Olu’s response forestall a recurrence of mob violence? There is a consensus that his first response is in order. But most stakeholders have suggested the need to reinvigorate the instruments of the state in response to the menace of the operators not just in six local government areas, but also across the state. As required under the 1999 Constitution, they are challenging the governor and his team to initiate fresh strategies with the sole purpose of strengthening the state’s mechanism for the safety of lives and assets.