Here is a post by Emmanuel Ebesunun in the Edo Political Parliament when Frank Obaresan Okuokoni ask a lawyer to give an insight...... Emmanuel Ebesunun wrote... Very thorny question Frank Obaresan-Okoukoni especially as our courts have a habit of delivering very strange decisions when politics and politicians are involved. Anyway let me give it a try :
As a general rule govt has no power to deprive ANYONE of the use of his property, okada is property, and the right to the use of one's property is one of our God given rights [they are not constitutional rights as most people mistaken label them, the const ONLY protects our rights, it does not give them to us]. Now let us apply this general rule and the exceptions that follow it in the two available situations :
1. For private use; govt cannot prevent anyone from using his okada to move freely about his lawful business, to do so will be impeding the person's freedom of movement and depriving him of the right to the lawful use of his property. The only thing govt has power to do is make regulations as to how the okada can be used in the interest of the health and safety of the general public, e.g., require that the owner license it, require that anyone riding it have a valid license to so do, require that anyone riding it and/or being conveyed on it put on a crash helmet, etc.
2. The issue becomes more complicated when the okada is for commercial purposes, as I recall we have a hackney carriage law that deals with categories of vehicles that can be used for the commercial conveying of human beings, and okada is not listed, in fact okada for commercial use was not in practice as at the time the law was enacted. Does that mean that okada cant be used for commercial purposes?. There are two schools of thought on such an issue, the first is of the view that govt's regulatory power [in the interest of the health and welfare of the general society] can be used to decide what classes of vehicles are fit for commercial purposes, if the view of this first school of thougt is applied, govt has power to ban okada. The contrary school of thought is that govt CAN ONLY regulate to the extent of requiring licensing; equipment; and safe practices in the interest of the health and welfare of the general public. World wide, when it comes to commercial use, govt has always won the argument with the first school of thought except when there is some discriminatory intent and/or outcome and/or some other egregious circumstance implicated in the determination of whether a particular class of vehicle be used or not. Banning okada use in only 3 LGA has a clearly discriminatory impact/intent.
Bottom line?, it depends on the how the court is suaded one way or the other, so the okada riders better get the best available, and although now mute, avoid state courts while pursuing their remedies.
The above is a generalized overview, but let's look at the specifics from the post, did the governor verbally ban okadas?, he has no power to do so, that will amount to legislating/making laws, and only the House of Assembly has the power to pass laws subject to the govs accent in some cases. Even if there is an existing law banning okada, did he comply with the provisions pf that law when he announced the ban verbally?, if he did not comply with the provisions of the law then the ban in invalid!. Did the governor threaten to confiscate and burn okadas?, if he did then he has exceeded his powers, ONLY the courts have the power to pronounce a person guilty of a violation of laws/regulations, and only a court can impose punishment, confiscating and burning okada for the violation of any law banning their use is punishment fit only for imposition by the courts and not the governor.
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