By Newman Anthony Levey in Bo
The head of the Bike Riders Union in Bo, Augustine Sama, has told Politico that they have handed over four of their members to the police for investigation in connection to an attack on the offices of the Sierra Leone Roads Safety Authority (SLRSA) and its staff last week Thursday.
Several riders stormed the SLRSA facility in the city in protest against alleged extortion and harassment by its road safety corps and traffic police.
The Acting Regional Head of SLRSA, James Aruna, recalled: "We were in our office, as usual addressing our officers, when one of them (officers) came into the office and said that bike riders were coming to the office in huge number. From that point we closed our gate and they came and started pushing the gate to get access to our compound.”
Sama condemned the attitude of the riders and apologized for their behavior to the authorities.
“We want to say sorry to the public and sorry to the people of Bo for the ugly situation by our riders,” Sama told Politico.
Among a number of issues, some riders who preferred anonymity told Politico that they were forced into storming the SLRSA office to protest their continued harassment and to send a message for the authorities to act. They explained that despite the ongoing curfew time starting 9pm, police officers and the road safety corps force them to leave the streets by 8pm and issue them tickets when they refuse to adhere.
Regional spokesman South for the Police, Mohamed Bobson Senu, said the behavior of the riders on Thursday was not new. He said law enforcement agencies were just focused on doing their job, which is making sure they (bike riders) didn’t overload and that they respected curfew.
Senu said: “The police has the mandate to enforce laws but the riders do not want the police to enforce those laws.”
He added: “It is their habits and we have always engaged their leadership to regulate their behaviors.”
SLRSA and the Police said no one was injured and no property was damaged during the attack.
Motorbike is the most predominant form of transportation in Bo.
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