Police ban motorcycle operatives in Adamawa due to crime rate

Adamawa State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has banned the use of motorcycles in the state.

The command said in a press statement sent to the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Tuesday that the ban was informed by rising crime rate.

The statement, which was signed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP Othman Abubakar, said the ban takes effect in all the 21 local government areas of the state till further notice.

The statement, which was signed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP Othman Abubakar, said the ban takes effect in all the 21 local government areas of the state till further notice.

"This has become necessary because of the incessant use of such motorcycles in the commission of heinous crimes such as kidnapping, armed banditry, communal clashes and other criminal activities in the state,” the statement read.

It added that the police would by the announcement of the ban “go all out on aggressive patrol and arrest of any defaulter of this directive.”

The ban had long been in place but was adhered to mostly in the state capital, Yola, especially in the city centre, while it was largely ignored in the rest of the state.

The fresh ban came as a reminder to how helpless residents of the state have been in the hands of not only motorcycle operators but users of tricycles, otherwise called Keke NAPEP.