6 ‘Okada’ riders remanded in custody
Six ‘okada’ (motorbike) riders have been remanded in police custody by the Madina District Court in Accra for engaging in illegal commercial motorcycle business.
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A seventh person, Kobla Adatsu, who pleaded guilty to all three charges preferred against them, has been released after paying a fine of GH¢360.
The six, whose names were given by Inspector Bukari Seidu of the Kwabenya Motor, Traffic and Transport Union (MTTU) as Henry Darko, Joel Kuobadia, Samuel Antwi, Godwin Okletey, Kobina Robert and Gabriel Kuakril, are currently in police custody at the Kwabenya Police Station.
The Kwabenya District Police Commander, Superintendent Victoria Yamoah, who briefed the Daily Graphic, said the seven okada riders were charged with three offences upon arrest.The charges are riding motorbikes without licences, riding motorbikes without road worthy certificates and doing illegal commercial motorbike business.
According to Supt Yamoah, with the exception of Antwi who pleaded not guilty to all counts and was, therefore, to reappear before the court on December 13, 2013, Darko, Kuobadia, Robert, Okletey and Kuakril pleaded guilty to one of the three charges each and were, therefore, fined GH¢120 each and ordered to reappear on December 16, 2013.
Supt Yamoah said although all the five who pleaded guilty to one of the three charges could be bailed, they were not getting sureties and were, therefore, still in police custody.
Giving the facts of the case, she said on Monday, December 9, 2013 at around 9 a.m, the police at Kwabenya swooped on them upon a tip-off that commercial motor riders, popularly known as okada, have opened a station and were operating at the Ashongman Estates near Kwabenya.
She said when the MTTU got to the station, most of the riders around managed to escape but the seven were arrested and immediately arraigned before the Madina District Court on three charges.
Supt Yamoah said the police reacted to the call because recently they had recorded a lot of robbery activities within Haatso, Kwabenya, Ashongman and their environs which mainly involved the snatching of bags by motor riders.
She said the police in the area, therefore, did not want to encourage commercial motor riders in the area so that people would move around freely and enjoy their Yuletide in peace.
According to her, they were doing everything possible to ensure the free flow of traffic, especially on the Kwabenya to Atomic Roundabout road, as well as on the Atomic Roundabout to Haatso stretch of the road.
When this is done, she said, it would stop people from patronising the okada as their means of transport.
She advised people to desist from using the services of okada.
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