The former Governor of Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has warned transporters, especially commercial motorcycle riders in the state, to avoid any act of lawlessness.

He spoke with journalists in Ilorin on Friday after a meeting with the leadership of the commercial motorcyclists popularly called okada riders.

Saraki advised transporters and other members of the society who wished to react to government's policies to do so lawfully, following due process.

He stated that they should explore all avenues of dialogue and channel their grievances to appropriate quarters without disrupting socio-economic activities and threatening the public peace.

Saraki, who is senator representing Kwara Central, stated that the okada riders did not explore all peaceful means before protesting against their operations.

He, however, said that the grievances of the okada riders would be looked in and appropriate decisions taken by the state government to ensure the over-all well being of all the citizens in the state.

"I believe that before you go on street protest, you must have exhausted all channels of dialogue and discussion. As senator representing this constituency, I believe that my office is a channel of dialogue but the channel of dialogue was not exhausted before they went on protest.

"It is a wrong precedent and it should not be especially in a fragile environment that we are all in. We should try to resolve things peacefully especially issues like this which we can easily find solutions to."

The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, with the support of the state House of Assembly had banned okada riders from operating along Ahmadu Bellow Way (the whole length); Murtala Mohammed Road (from Government Secondary school Round About to Ola-Olu Hospital) and Abdulazeez Attah Road (from AP Round About to Oja Tuntun Baboko junction).

Other areas are Umar Saro Road (AP Round About to MOH Round About); Obbo Road (the whole length); Zulu Gambari Road, Ilofa Road; Offa Road, Lajorin Road and the whole of Government Reservation Area, Ilorin.

But over 400 okada riders had protested along some streets of Ilorin against the prohibition.

They damaged a number of things at the residence of the Special Adviser to the Kwara State Governor on Utility and Transport, Alhaji BibireAjape, such as the louvers and blew the fluorescent lights at his Agbo Oba residence in Ilorin.

They later stormed the Kwara State Road Traffic Management Authority office, injuring one of the KWARTMA employees, Mr. Owoyemi Rasheed, according to the Chief Executive Officer of KWARTMA, Alhaji Amusa Bello.

They also damaged vehicles and office buildings and property at KWARTMA's premises valued at over N4.3m, Bello said.