The Lafia Branch Chairman of the National Association of Okada Riders, Uba Yahaya, has said ten commercial motorcyclists were killed in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, in the last two months, by attackers, with all their motorcycles snatched.

Yahaya disclosed this to Daily Trust, while reacting to the frequent attacks on Okada riders in the state.

According to him, as chairman of the association, he personally attended the funerals of all the victims.

“We ourselves have attended the funerals of ten people. All their motorcycles were taken away! All of them! They were killed,” he said.

He described how the killings are carried out, citing one case of how a rider was hit with a club along the bypass.

He also recounted another incident where a rider was stabbed “straight to his heart” and had his skull smashed.

“Some came and were admitted to the hospital with injuries, with their motorcycles taken away,” he added.

The chairman said security in the area has worsened again despite recent steps taken by the state government that initially brought “some relief.

“People experienced some relief, didn’t they? But because people relaxed, now the problems have started increasing again,” Yahaya stated.

He said most of the attacks now happen at night, “between the Maghrib prayer and the Isha prayer,” though some occur during the day.

Criminals pretend to be passengers

He alleged that criminals now operate by pretending to be passengers or mechanics and by using commercial motorcycle jackets recently distributed to riders to deceive victims.

“A certain young man, just recently, had his motorcycle taken. That criminal was wearing the rider’s jacket. So he deceived that other guy. One sat behind the motorcycle, and the two deceivers were on the bike.

“That’s how they continued to beat him. In the end, he barely escaped, and they took the motorcycle and ran away,” he narrated.

Yahaya also alleged that one suspect had snatched more than five motorcycles.

“He uses a gun; if he shows you the gun, if you don’t give him the bike, he’ll pull out the gun. Even during the day, he does this work all alone!” he said.

The chairman said the association is “100% behind the government’s move to reduce the movement of these night travels” to address the killings and snatching.

“We are doing the best we can,” he said, calling for urgent intervention.

My two brothers were victims – Relative

A relative to one of the victims, Abduljalal Muhammad, recounted how his younger brother, Yusuf Muhammad, was shot and killed by suspected criminals, while working as a commercial motorcyclist in Lafia.

Abduljalal said the incident happened after his brother picked up a passenger and was demanding his payment.

“He picked up a passenger and when he demanded his payment, they shot him.” he said.

According to him, the attackers used a pistol and shot his brother while he was waiting for his payment

“They will hold a short gun and point it at you while you’re waiting for your payment. They will shoot at your head.”

He said the killing occurred in Makurdi road after Housing Estates, saying some people told them of the incident. ted by residents.

“By God, most of the task force officers didn’t even go to that area, let alone see the body. We got the body through the effort of some brave young men,” he said.

Abduljalal said the area has become dangerous for Okada riders.

He added that another relative was also shot in the same area but survived.

He added that the victims are from Jigawa State and came to Nasarawa State to work as Okada riders.

Police issues advisory to riders

Reacting, Nasarawa State Police Command advised commercial motorcyclists in the state to avoid late-night operations and to remain security conscious, warning that criminals often lure riders with offers of huge fares before attacking them.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Ramhan Nansel, said most of the attacks on Okada riders happen at night.

“Whatever you cannot get during the day will be difficult for you to get at night. And most of the time, these criminals, they will lure them with big money,” Nansel said.

He explained the pattern used by the attackers, “Somebody will tell you, ‘from Total, take me to Shabu. From Shabu, go here. From Shabu, now go to other places.’ Don’t worry, I’ll give you so-so amount. When they hear that huge amount of money they will lure them. And then take them to secluded areas, take a gang and attack them now, and dispossess them.”

He urged riders to be mindful and to report any incident to the police to aid investigation.

“Reporting it will assist us in investigation, because if they don’t, we may not know. The police cannot be everywhere. But people are everywhere. So when they report, we will spread our tentacles and see how it will be investigated,” he said.

The PPRO added that some of the recent attacks on Okada riders have not been officially reported to the command. (Daily Trust)