SMARTING from increase in crime rate since the completion of the Ajao-Ejigbo link-bridge, residents of Ajao Estate have called on the Lagos State government to set up measures to curb the menace of the influx of okada (commercial motorcyclists) riders in the area.
In the petition obtained by The Guardian, the residents, under the aegis of Ajao Estate Phase II Community Development Association, said the concerns and fears they raised over security of life and property when the contract for the link -bridge was awarded are.now becoming reality.

The letter, jointly signed by the Chairman, Leo Ikeagwu; Secretary, Phil Osueze and Chairman, Security and Development Community, Capt. Niyi Ogunbameru, reads in part: “It will be recalled that our initial apprehension on the idea of a link -bridge with Ejigbo bothered only on security of life and property of our residents, judging from the likely influx of traffic from people coming in and out of the estate through the bridge…

“We do not lose sight of the fact that the link will offer relief to the teeming population within Ejigbo, Isolo, Ikotun etc., to who the means will offer quick access to the pursuit of their economic and social wellbeing as contained in your electoral manifesto.
“While commending the economic agenda of the Lagos State government in elevating the lives of common people by building the link- bridge, it will not be out of place to ask your office to send officials to witness and investigate the horrors and nightmares residents of Ajao estate are now experiencing even before the official commissioning of the bridge.”

In an interview with The Guardian, yesterday, Ikeagwu said his home was the target of one of the numerous robbery incidents within the estate. Disclosing that a tenant of his sustained injuries during the unforgettable ordeal, he said the estate is fast becoming a haven for criminally minded okada riders, thereby frightening potential tenants away and giving the estate a bad image.
The residents said okada riders and passengers are making life unbearable and certain roads impassable at certain periods of the day.
According to them: “The roads from Chivita through Inno Nwosu, Ajibola Babalope and Nwobodo Eze roads have become impassable at certain periods of the day, resembling what we used to witness at the old Oshodi before government intervention.”

The association, therefore, prayed the Lagos State government: “Help us fix the roads within the areas that have become central focal points; ban okada riders from plying those major roads within the area in Ajao Estate Phase II as applicable in some parts of Lagos State and allow “Keke Marwa” (tricycle operators) as applicable in other areas of the state to checkmate robbery and assist struggling passengers; increase police presence within the estate; and not to allow ‘Danfos,’ heavy duty vehicles and gas tankers to ply the bridge.”


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