Ogun okada riders clash in court, 25 arrested

Warring factional members of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association created confusion in Abeokuta when they engaged in a violent clash that left several persons injured.

Two factions of the commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as okada riders, on Wednesday, clashed at the premises of the Federal High Court, Abeokuta, where they were engaged in a legal battle.

Many people and civil servants in the area ran helter skelter in apparent confusion as the feuding ACOMORAN members freely used dangerous weapons, including guns and machetes against one another.

Sporadic gunshots, allegedly fired by the rival okada riders were said to have attracted the attention of the state military anti-crime outfit, Operation MESA, the police, operatives of the State Security Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

Metro gathered that the crux of the matter was a suit filed by the former Secretary of the association, Lateef Yekini, challenging his alleged detention sometime ago by the  ACOMORAN Chairman, Alhaji Shamsudeen Apelogun.

The Apelogun faction had accused the former secretary of embezzling N1m association’s funds and subsequently invited the police to investigate the matter.

Members of the two factions, however, launched a violent attack on one another in the court premises shortly after the case was adjourned by the court to December 3 2013.

In the ensuing violence, the Ogun State Treasurer of ACOMORAN, Razaq Sotayo, and an undisclosed number of persons were severely injured.

Security operatives, who stormed the court during the melee, arrested some of the warring members of the association and restored normalcy.

The state Acting Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the incident, said the command had arrested 25 suspects allegedly involved in the violence.

Oyeyemi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, said the suspects would be prosecuted at the completion of investigation.

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 in 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.”