Four persons were reportedly injured as commercial motorcyclists at Sabo and Soaiyedero areas in Ilaro, Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State clashed over the issuance of tickets.
It was gathered that members of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Riders Association of Nigeria and a group known as the ‘Exodus’ have been at loggerheads for some weeks over the issuance of tickets to members.
The trouble on Monday began at about 9 am when some members of ACOMORAN were collecting the N100 ticket levy and members of the ‘Exodus’ group refused to pay, leading to a free-for-all.
Speaking with PUNCH, the leader of the Exodus group, Taiwo Konigbagbe, said, “We, members of the Exodus group, decided to go away from ACOMORAN and we have notified the Ogun State Government that we are not a part of the group anymore because of their excessive fees and levies.
“Yet, they attacked our members this morning. Many of our members are down with injuries. ACOMORAN wants us to integrate our body with theirs and we have said no because we don’t want to belong to them.”
But the Ilaro branch chairman of ACOMORAN, Dauda Adekunjo, said since the Exodus group is not a legal body, its members must buy tickets from ACOMORAN which he described as a government-recognised body.
He said, “The government does not recognise the Exodus group and any other association for that matter. They cannot function outside the supervisory arm of ACOMORAN or their original group.
“They have to buy tickets from us or their members would pay us for their tickets. They know all these. Presently, we are at the Ilaro Divisional Police Station because one of our members was stabbed with a broken bottle by members of Exodus.
“This entire fracas that is coming up now is simply because they have refused to pay directly for tickets or buy tickets from us. There is nothing that they can do but obey the laws of the land. We are the only recognised body that the government knows.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, however, warned that the state police command will deal decisively with troublemakers.
Oyeyemi said, “No group can or should turn Ogun State into a battleground and it applies to every one of the parties involved in this matter.
“The police would deal with any groups or persons fomenting trouble in the state. The Ogun State Government has recognised ACOMORON, ROMO and AMORON. If there is another group, they should sort themselves out but not at the expense of public peace.”