Leaders of the Arewa Community in Lagos have promised to work with the government and the Association of Arewa Okada Riders towards implementing extant rules and ensuring all riders’ documentation in all local government areas.

“We must have adequate data on everyone. We call on the Lagos State Government to be vigilant and take proper punitive measures on bad eggs within the security agencies,” they said in a communique issued by Musa Saleh, their secretary-general.

During their extraordinary general meeting, the leaders said they supported the commercial motorcycle ban in some areas in Lagos, urging their members to comply with the law.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday imposed a total ban on commercial motorcycles, popularly known as Okada, on all highways across six local government areas and nine local council development areas.

The affected areas are Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Surulere, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland and Apapa.

“We support all the measures taken by the Lagos State Government in its efforts to protect the lives and property of all Lagos residents,” they said.

The leaders condemned the activities of criminal elements, who mainly were nationals of other neighbouring countries, saying, “these foreigners have infiltrated the ranks of those genuine riders, thereby perpetrating all forms of crimes in the state.

“They are constituting serious threats to the lives and property of Lagos residents. We are calling on the security agencies to identify and arrest all those criminal elements masquerading as Okada riders.

“We are also tasking the Nigeria Immigration Service to step up its actions along the borders to check the influx of those foreign elements,” they said.

(NAN)