Bike riders (Okadas) in the east end of Freetown on Sunday 17th June 2012, attacked and vandalized the Calaba Town Police Station, stabbed two female police officers and carted away properties worth millions of Leones. Talking to Awareness Times on Monday 18th June, the Head of Police Media and Communication, ASP Ibrahim Samura revealed that, at about 3:00pm that Sunday, dozens of unidentified bike riders brutally stormed the Calaba Town police station, which according to him, was at the time manned by less than ten police personnel on duty.

ASP Samura said the okada attackers vandalized the station, destroying glass doors and windows, furniture, station diaries, communication sets, case files, laptop and desktop computers and other relevant documents.

According to ASP Samura, on their way out of the station after perpetrating the violence, the attackers saw two female police officers hiding in a corner of the compound; the two women who were on duty at the station, were grabbed and beaten up leaving one of them stripped half naked and both of them stabbed with screw drivers on their legs.

The ASP went on that, by the time reinforcement arrived, the attackers had fled the scene. He said the matter is still under investigation but that on to press time, an arrest is yet to be made on.

Explaining another attack on police on the same day, ASP Samura informed that, another set of okada bike riders also attacked a female police officer at Saint John and tore off her police uniform on her, whilst at Dwarzak; some other okada riders manhandled a police officer who was also mercilessly beaten for no justifiable cause.

Reports from our correspondents up in Kabala, Koinadugu district, indicates that Okada riders also stormed the Kabala Police Station yesterday June 18th 2012 but were repelled by the OSD police officers on duty. They attacked the station following the burial of the man killed when he bulldozed his way through an OSD police checkpoint in Freetown. His corpse was transported to Kabala.

Following this first attack, the okada riders retreated into the bushes and regrouped like in the manner of RUF rebels following which they launched another more serious attack on the Kabala Police station in late afternoon but they again were repelled by the professional OSD police officers. The Okada riders however openly vowed to attack the Kabala station during the night but up to press time this morning, had not done so.

Okada riders in Kabala are demanding unlicensed and uninsured okadas seized recently by the police in Kabala should be returned forthwith.Police are naturally resistant to the demand.