Olanrewaju Ayuba, a Lagos State resident, was heading to his workshop in the Isheri area of Berger in Lagos on October 25 when the police stopped him.
The police said he had to concede his scooter to them because the state government deemed it unfit for the roads.
“In my presence, they took it to the Oshodi Task Force office, and that was the last time I saw it,” Ayuba told FIJ.
“They said we are restricted from taking that route, which is Isheri/Ijegun. I had my helmet on and I did not carry a passenger. And I have been passing that place for more than a year because my bike is just about 18 months old.”
Ayuba’s narration came days after Great Okikiola, another resident, experienced the same thing.
READ ALSO: Lagos Police Seize Resident’s Private Motorcycle, Tell Him to ‘Go Buy Another One’
Okikiola had a similar scooter, and the police told him the machine had an engine cylinder capacity (CC) below the approved 200cc.
Both men said they proved to the police that their bikes were for private use, but the policemen did not care.
When the state-wide ban on commercial motorcycles was announced, Gboyega Akosile, then Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, said, “We are not addressing non-commercials; those that use their motorcycles for dispatch are exempt. But commercial motorcycles are not exempt.”
He argued delivery motorcycles could operate, but the state was intent on curbing commercial use.
When FIJ called Akosile on November 7, he said despite his comments, the state would not allow motorcycles that did not have the specified 200cc.
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