25 arrested as ‘Okada’ men fight in court

The Federal High Court in Abeokuta, the Ogun State
capital, was the scene of a violent clash with some
commercial motorcyclists aka “okada” being taken
into custody for causing the fracas.
Police officers in the state arrested a total of 25 of
the bike riders after the clash which reportedly left
dozens of people injured.

The motorcyclists were within the court premises
over a case filed by one of the members of the
Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners and
Riders Association (ACOMORAN) claiming that he
was illegally detained by a former chairman of the
association.

Nigerian Eye reports:

The former Secretary of the association,
Lateef Yekini filed the suit challenging his
alleged detention sometime ago by the
association’s Chairman, Alhaji
Shamsudeen Apelogun.

However, shortly after the case was
adjourned by the presiding judge to
December 3, the association’s members
began to fight at the court premises,
leaving the state ACOMORAN Treasurer,
Razaq Sotayo, critically injured.
An eyewitness revealed that the
hoodlums freely used dangerous
weapons, including guns and machetes,
forcing many people in the area to
scamper for safety.

It was gathered that the sporadic gunshots
of the okada men attracted the attention
of security agents from the military,
Police, Department of State Services, DSS
and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence
Corps, NSCDC, who restored normalcy
after some of the fighters were
apprehended.

Confirming the incident, the state Acting
Police Public Relations Officer, Mr.
Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed that no
fewer than 25 suspects had been arrested
in connection with the fracas.
Oyeyemi, an Assistant Superintendent of
Police, said normalcy had already been
restored and that the suspects would face
prosecution.

He said: “Currently, about 25 hoodlums
were arrested and they are undergoing
interrogation. They are going to be
screened. Those who were not part of the
fracas will be definitely released.
“But those who perpetrated the act are
going to be prosecuted at the law court.
Few people sustained injuries, but I
cannot confirm their number at the
moment.

“Our own concern is to bring the situation
under control and make sure those who
perpetrated the act are dealt with
according to the law.”
Meantime, the Apelogun group had
accused the former Secretary of inviting
security agents into the matter.
Apelogun, who spoke with newsmen,
absolved himself from the fracas, saying it
was the former Secretary that mobilised
armed hoodlums from Ibadan and some
neighbouring towns to cause crisis.
He said: “The former secretary was facing
criminal charge at the Magistrate’s Court
over embezzlement. He later sued me for
unlawful detention, even though I’m not a
security agent.

“Today (yesterday), the presiding judge
asked us to bring all our trustees to
court.”