By Abimbola Ogunnaike
The protest by tricycle and motorcycle riders in the Asaba and Okpanam areas of Delta State has turned bloody.
It was gathered that as morning of Tuesday, 19 March, 2024, deaths recorded as a result of the protest has risen to four.
The chairman of the Building Material Market, Okpanam, and one of the okada riders, who were said to have been hit by police stray bullet during the protest on Monday, 18 March, 2024, died early hours of Tuesday.
The commercial motorcyclists, during their protest on Monday, had said they were protesting the untimely death of their colleagues who were allegedly killed by the State Task Force on the night of Sunday, 17 Match, 2024.
The State Task Force was enforcing the ban on late-hour operations of tricycles and motorcycles in the capital territory.
The news of their death sparked another round of protest by the traders at the building material market.
The traders protested the death of their chairman, while the okada riders also joined to protest the death of their colleagues.
During the protest, commercial activities were grounded, shops closed and roads deserted, while some tricycles and motorcycles seen on the road were seized and set ablaze.
However, operatives of the Police Anti-Riot Squad were drafted to take control of Okpanam town.
Director-General of the Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency, Chief Patrick Ukah, while addressing the protesters, called for calm and appealed to residents for patience and cooperation to enable the state government deal with the issues that led to the rampage.
While sympathizing with the traders and riders over the deaths, he however condemned the action of the protesters, especially the wanton destruction and vandalisation of property at the Motorcycle and Tricycle Operators Association, COMTOA, Secretariat.
He said the agency was in touch with the Office of the SSG, the leadership of COMTOA, and representatives of the Arewa community, with a view to resolving issues that led to the protest.
Meanwhile, Delta State Police Command has arrested eight male suspects while 53 motorcycles were impounded during the riders protest.
