20100608
Daily Trust

At least four persons were killed while two others were seriously injured in Jos yesterday when commercial motorcycle riders known as okada clashed with men of the task force to enforce the ban on commercial motorcycle operations. The task force had tried to enforce the ban earlier imposed by the Plateau State Government.

State governor Jonah Jang had in April signed into law the bill banning commercial motorcycle operations in Jos-Bukuru metropolis, but the law was not enforced until yesterday.

The special task force drafted to ensure compliance with the ban comprises the police, its mobile unit, men of the federal road safety corps, and the Nigeria Civil Defense Corps.

Men of the task force moved to the Terminus area around 11o'clock in the morning and started apprehending the cyclists. When news got round the city that the security agencies were clamping down on them, the cyclists mobilized and put up resistance.

The okada operators threw stones at men of the task force, who in turn responded by shooting into the air, which added to the commotion as people all around took to their heels while shops and offices around Terminus and Massalacin Juma'a Street were closed down.

Tension mounted as the police used tear gas to disperse the rioting Okada riders, who retreated but later regrouped at different junctions and set up bonfires. Four corpses all with bullet wounds were brought to the Jos Central Mosque around 4 pm yesterday.

Chairman of the Jama'atu Nasril Islam's [JNI] rescue committee Mohammed Tanko Shitu confirmed the number of corpses brought to the mosque for burial according to Muslim rites.

He said the corpses had been identified while bullets were extracted from two of the bodies, which he said would be submitted to the security agencies.

Plateau Commissioner for Information and Communication Gregory Yenlong, in his reaction, said the ban was meant to restore sanity, peace and order and that enough grace period had been given to the motorcycle operators since the ban was signed into law by the state governor.

He said, "Enough grace was given to all operators of commercial motorcycles in the state to brace up to the new reality. Unfortunately, in early hours of today, Monday, June 7, 2010, the enforcement of this law met with resistance from a section of the operators culminating into breach of law and order in some parts of Jos metropolis".

He warned people not to take the law into their hands or do anything that would threaten the existing peace in the state, saying the security agencies have been directed to deal with anybody found violating peace and order in the state. He also said the state government is already working out modalities to cushion the effects of the ban.

President of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN) Babangida Shehu Maihula told Daily Trust that several of his members were injured by gunshots, but he said he cannot ascertain the number of casualties as at the time of filing this report.

Babangida, who spoke to our correspondent on telephone, also called on his association's members to remain calm as the association is on top of the situation.

Witnesses also said some policemen were attacked in the process but for the timely intervention of the Special Task Force troops they would have been lynched by the rioting Okada riders.

An eyewitness who spoke on condition of anonymity also told our reporters that two people were shot in the leg and hand at Zololo Junction by mobile policemen who were patrolling the area at the time of the incident.

But Police Public Relations Officer Muhammed Lerama, who was contacted to comment on the incident, said he was not in town and therefore had no details of the incident. He however stated that he was on his way back to Jos and promised to make details available to newsmen as soon as he returned.

On his part, STF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Kingsley Umoh, who confirmed the incident, said the clash was between the Okada riders and the task force on the ban.

At mid day, people were seen returning home as parents rushed to schools to take their wards home for fear of escalation of the crisis.
One of the Okada riders who spoke on our correspondent on condition of anonymity alleged that the state government and the state assembly were not sincere when they passed and signed the bill into law. He said, "Why are they banning Okada only in Jos and Bukuru metropolis? Why Jos North and Bukuru, in a state with 17 local governments? These are the kinds of questions people are suppose to be asking, and not that we are resisting the implementation".

Our correspondents could not ascertain rumours that two policemen were also killed in the crisis.

The plateau state government has made several efforts to implement the law banning okada in Jos -Bukuru metropolis since April this year when governor Jonah Jang signed the bill into law.

Meanwhile, the Federal High Court sitting in Jos is continuing today with the suit filed in February this year by Okada riders against the state government on the banning of their operation.

Hearing in the case commenced last month before Justice Binta Aliyu, who adjourned for hearing today June 8th.