Sanwo-Olu says Okada riders are responsible for several crimes in Lagos.

The ban on motorcycles on highways and some areas by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu continues to raise more questions as school pupils joined the conversation.

On Friday, January 31, 2020, a group of pupils of Chrisland School visited the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu at his office in Alausa, Ikeja.

In a video shared by the governor on his Twitter page, one of the students asked him to explain why he banned Okada operators from plying certain areas in the state.

Responding to the question, Sanwo-Olu said Okada men have caused us so much pain, adding that they are responsible for several deaths, accidents and crimes in Lagos.

He said, “We are not banning them everywhere in Lagos. Lagos has a total of 20 Local Governments and 37 LCDAs. We are banning them in 15 out of the 57, and we are also restricting them on bridges and highways. And some of the reasons we found, apart from the high level of recklessness, they’ve caused us so much pain. There have been several deaths, there have been several accidents, there have been several crimes committed by them and the government has an existing law of about six years ago when they were banned. It is that same law we are bringing back to enforce. So, it's not that we are banning them all over Lagos”.

On Monday, January 27, 2020, the Lagos government announced a ban on the activities of Okada and Keke Napeps in some Local Government Areas like Apapa, Lagos Mainland, Surulere, Eti Osa, Lagos Island, Ikeja effective from February 1, 2020.

The ban also affects Gokada, Oride and other ride hailing companies.