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Several commercial motorbike riders in Freetown have raised concerns over what they describe as harassment, intimidation, and alleged extortion by officials of the Bike Monitoring Officers (BMO), the body established to monitor and regulate the affairs of bike riders across the city.
The complaints were made in separate interviews with Sierraloaded reporter Sahid Bangura on Thursday, 6 August 2026.
Mohamed S. Bah, a rider operating along Model New Road, said he has not experienced major problems within the Model axis, and praised the local chairman for treating riders fairly. However, he alleged that difficulties begin when riders operate outside the area.
According to him, BMO officials in other parts of the city often intercept riders and compel them to buy daily tickets for Le20, despite the official ticket price being Le5.
“It hasn’t been long since I started riding bike, and truth be told, the Chairman here is not mean to us, but we normally face challenges when we are riding outside of this Model axis,” he said.
Bah further recounted an incident in which his motorcycle was impounded at Mountain Cut for allegedly parking in the wrong place. He said he paid a fine of Le50 before the bike was released.
Another rider who operates along the Mountain Cut and Sackville Street route alleged that his motorcycle was detained for an entire day and night after he was stopped for not wearing a helmet. He claimed that he had removed the helmet temporarily because he was suffering from a severe headache and needed fresh air.
The rider also accused some BMO officials of using excessive force over minor infractions and, in some cases, demanding money from riders who are already complying with the rules.
“Sometimes when they approach a rider who is fully in compliance with the rules, they will still make remarks suggesting that the rider should give them money,” he alleged. “If the rider refuses and is later found with even a small fault, they become very harsh on him.”
In a separate interview, another rider identified as Mohamed Bah also expressed dissatisfaction with the daily ticket system, describing the Le5 fee as burdensome given the difficult economic conditions faced by riders.
He acknowledged that the BMO has played a role in maintaining order among riders, whom he described as often lawless, but argued that some officials exploit the system for personal gain.
“To be sincere, without the BMO it would have been a serious problem,” he said. “But some riders suffer disadvantages from BMO officials without committing any offence, just because they want to extort money from them.”
Bah alleged that riders are sometimes accused of improper parking even when they stop briefly to drop off passengers.
He also described what he called a serious confrontation with a BMO official and a chairman at Imatt Junction over the purchase of a daily ticket. According to him, the incident occurred around 8:30 a.m., although riders are reportedly allowed until 12:00 noon to buy the ticket.
“I told them I had not yet carried any passenger and had no money with me, but they insisted,” he said, adding that he eventually obtained cash and purchased the ticket after a heated exchange.
The riders interviewed repeatedly distinguished between what they described as responsible local leadership at the Model Park and the conduct of some officials operating in other parts of Freetown.
Sierraloaded made efforts to contact the chairmen of both the BMO and the Bike Riders Union at Model for their response to the allegations, but no official comment had been received by the time of publication.
