Lagos drives out, arrests street traders in Oshodi, others

In its bid to rid the state of street trading, the Lagos State Government, on Wednesday, said it dislodged and arrested street traders operating at the Oshodi-Agege Motor Road, Ikeja GRA, Old Secretariat, among others.

A statement by the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources on Wednesday said the operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) and the Kick Against Indiscipline, who carried out the operation, acted on the directives of the Commissioner of the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab.

“The arrested environmental defaulters were taken to the LAGESC headquarters and handed over to the appropriate section for further action”, the statement said.

The PUNCH reports that the Lagos State Government had recently declared zero tolerance for street trading in the state.

In a statement, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Gaji Omobolaji warned that anyone apprehended would be made to face prosecution at the established Mobile Courts in line with the state environmental laws, in addition to having the wares they hawk and display on major roads confiscated.

He noted that Lagos, a megacity developing into a smart city, had no place for street traders who not only constituted an eyesore to the aesthetics of the city and exposed themselves to hazardous situations but also constituted a threat to the security of lives and property.