Commerical motorcyclists are now faced with the scarcity of standard helmets in the market despite the soaring prices.
The development is coming just as the Federal Road Safety Commission on Friday said that its officials have arrested more than 5,000 okada riders who failed to comply with the wearing of helmet nationwide.
The Commission also identified some challenges impeding the enforcement of the safety helmet law.
The FRSC Public Education Officer, Mr Wole Olaniran, who stated this in a statement to SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday, explained that the figure represented the number of arrests made within the first week of the enforcement of the law on the use of safety helmet by motorcyclists.
The new regulation, it would be recalled, started on January 1, 2009.
Olaniran who identified the enforcement challenges, said they bordered on passengers‘ refusal to use the helmet, unruly behaviour of some motorcyclists, non-availability of the product as well as its high cost.
Others include outright resistance in some states, slow response to support the enforcement drive by some local and state governments, use of fake helmets, and non compliance by some uniformed service personnel.
In Akwa Ibom State, okada riders are currently finding it difficult to purchase the item due to its scarcity in the market.
SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that the helmets were nowhere to be found in almost all the stores in Uyo, the state capital.
A motorcycle dealer on Aka Road, Okon Ikpe, said on Saturday that from the moment people got wind of FRSC‘s directive on the use of helmets, there was a rush for the items.
”The problem is that you cannot even get them in the market now. They are so scarce that if you see them anywhere, the price will scare you away,” Ikpe stated.
From Delta State, it was learnt that the police harassed, intimidated and extorted money from okada riders in Warri, Ughelli, Effurun, Sapele and other major cities in the state.
Motorcycle operators in the state are in a dilemma over the enforcement by the police who have reportedly hijacked the exercise for financial gains.
The defaulters, it was alleged, paid between N5,000 and N10,000 to extricate themselves from the police.
In Ughelli, SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that okada riders had on Thursday protested to the FRSC Unit Command in the area, complaining of police brutality.
When contacted, the FRSC Sector Commander, Mr. Oluwasusi Familoni, declined comments on the issue, but a source who pleaded anonymity said that the Commission was disturbed by the development.
He said the Commission was preparing to lodge a complaint to the state Commissioner of Police, Jacob Oshiomogho on the development.
He said, “The Commission is disturbed by the development. I can tell you that it is not the duty of the police to enforce the regulation. The police can arrest defaulters, but must hand them over to the Commission. They have no right to fine or prosecute them. What we can do is to mention the issue to the Commissioner of Police, but you know we cannot force him to stop them.”
But, when the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Charles Muka, was contacted, he said the matter had not been reported to the authorities, adding that enforcement of helmet regulation should be the responsibility of the FRSC.
However, it was found that compliance with the regulation remained a partial success in parts of the state.
While it witnessed full compliance in Warri, the oil rich city, it recorded a partial success in Asaba, the state capital, where only the riders wore the helmet.
In Agbor, Ika East Local Council, where men of FRSC and okada operators had fistcuffs, the latter completely avoided the helmets.
In Lagos, the prices of helmets have continued to soar, as members of the FRSC and the police clamped down on the okada riders who drove without wearing the helmets.
The standard ones, which are in two variations, cost between N5,000 and N7,000.
Our correspondent gathered from the sellers at Jebba Street in Ebute Meta, that the prices as at last December were between N800 and N1,500 respectively.
The traders blamed the increase on the activities of importers and other middlemen who cashed in on the new regulation to exploit motorcyclists.
Meanwhile, some okada riders have complained over the alleged exorbitant prices of the helmets, and called for government intervention.
Our correspondent who moved round Akure, the Ondo State capital and Ondo town observed that the price of crash helmet ranged between N3,500 and N4,000.
The product was sold for N1,500 before January 1. The exorbitant price has forced some motorcyclists to continue to flout the directive.
Some motorcyclists who spoke with our correspondent lamented the sharp increase in the price of helmets immediately the FRSC started enforcing the directive.
The Unit Commander of the FRSC in Ondo, Mr. Sanya Adeoye, confirmed the increase to our correspondent on the telephone.
Adeoye said that the price of a crash helmet as at Friday was between N3,800 and N4,000 in Ondo town, adding that okada riders had been complaining about this.
He, however, said that despite the increment the compliance level was encouraging.
Meanwhile, a visit to the Artillery Regiment, Akure revealed that all soldiers who ride motorcycles within the barracks including their passengers put on crash helmets. Our correspondent observed that this had been a rule in the barracks before the FRSC started its new regulation.
Market survey by our correspondent in Bayelsa State, however, showed that the FRSC’s recommended helmets cost about N4,500 or more in the market.
Before the enforcement, the prices of substandard helmets ranged between N500 and N1,200 in many spare parts markets in the state.
In another development, the state government’s plan to regulate motocyclists operations by providing uniform helmets, reflective jackets and identification tags has slowed down the compliance level among the users