The Lagos State Task force has again, in line with the state government’s zero tolerance to the menace of street trading and illicit display of goods on walkways, kerbs, and rail tracks across the State, carried out an extensive raid of recalcitrant street vendors across strategic areas and rail tracks in the Metropolis.
Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, PRO Task Force, said this in a statement.
The raid, which took place in the early hours of today, was led by the Chairman of the Agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye, who disclosed that the State Government would not rest on its oars until the efforts of those trying to deface the outlook of the State through their selfish acts were completely truncated. He said that this time around, it would no longer be business as usual but a continuous and repeated set of actions until the ultimate goal of serenity in the environment was achieved.
“It is evident that even the street traders can attest to the fact that we mean business when we arrive at these locations to carry out enforcement for compliance activities. In the past, we would operate with the belief that they would not come back to their illegalities, but to our own surprise, they still regroup and continue with the illicit trade, but this time it is different. We are combing every area in Lagos till street trading becomes a thing of the past”.
Jejeloye further disclosed that a total of six suspects were arrested, four of whom were street traders, while the other two were arrested for trying to resist the actions of the Agency in carrying out their legitimate duties. He stated that such actions were clearly a result of the shock experienced after seeing officials of the Agency return to carry out raids on the same spot more than once in such a short period.
“It’s suicidal to carry out business activities on the rail tracks. We value the lives of Lagosians, which is one of the reasons we carry out these enforcement exercises to save lives and our environment. An eyewitness today informed us that a train had crushed some traders who were carrying out their businesses on the tracks some days ago, and I must confess that it is completely disheartening.”.
The chairman warned street traders and illicit operators who have built a makeshift haven at Fagba down to Isokoko, stating that the Agency would be coming there in the near future to restore sanity in that axis, which has been completely converted to an eyesore as a result of their activities.
He appealed to traders who are also fond of displaying their wares by the roadside, mostly at night, to desist forthwith or risk having their goods confiscated. He assured Lagosians that the Agency would continue to synergize with sister agencies in the State in order to completely achieve the themes of the present administration.
