In a bid to curb terrorism and insecurity following some of the continued activities of terrorist figures in Nigeria, the Federal Government of Nigeria considering the directive to stamp a ban on the use of commercial motorcycles known as Okada, and other forms of mining activities in the country.
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had noted that the measure would cut off funding of terrorists and bandits in Nigeria.
Malami had made this assertion while addressing State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, after a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. He was flanked by his Interior and Police Affairs counterparts, Rauf Aregbesola and Mohammed Dingyadi.
Malami had also announced that the meeting focused on the logistics used by the terrorists to stop their activities.
He said the government needed to act because terrorists had moved from the conventional ways of funding their activities to mining and ransom taking.
Malami said the motorcycles were used by the bandits for movement, while mining provides them the money to fund their arms supply.
In another report, the Lagos Government has finally inaugurated an Anti-Okada Squad to join the Police in enforcing ban on use of motorcycles for commercial transportation on highways, major roads and bridges in six local government areas of the state.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, said in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos that the ban was in line with the Transport Sector Reform Law (TSRL), 2018.
Oladeinde said the government was set to reinforce the ban on commercial motorcycles in the six LGAs and nine Local Council Development Areas.
