The Lagos State Police Command has identified suspected motorcyclists, known locally as Okada riders, as the alleged culprits behind the attack on a BRT bus in the Orile area on Wednesday.
Benjamin Hundeyin, the Command’s Spokesperson, shared these details during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday. Hundeyin clarified that the incident was not an armed robbery but a reaction from the motorcyclists whose bikes had been confiscated.
He explained that the Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit had conducted a raid targeting commercial motorcyclists operating on BRT lanes and other restricted roads, leading to the seizure of several motorcycles.
Some of the motorcyclists who resisted arrest during the raid were detained. Hundeyin reported that in response, the motorcyclists mobilized to protest, targeting the nearest Lagos State Government facility they encountered—a BRT bus. They forced the driver to halt the bus and proceeded to vandalize it. The driver, feeling unsafe, abandoned the bus, allowing the riders to damage the windows.
Hundeyin noted that while there are allegations of passenger robbery, no one has officially reported such incidents to the police.