The Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit (Task Force ) has concluded arrangement to charge 71 arrested street traders and miscreants to the Lagos State Environmental courts for immediate prosecution.
A statement from the taskforce said the operatives of the agency carried out an enforcement exercise to dislodge traders from hawking, selling and displaying wares on road setbacks/walkways in order to protects their lives and pave ways for the free-flow of traffic on Ketu axis to Ikorodu roundabout.
Those arrested included 33 miscreants and 38 traders. The traders were majorly women who hawked or displayed wares on road setbacks/walkways thereby causing obstructions to free-flow of traffic from Ketu to Ikorodu roundabout.
Other 33 arrested miscreants are those who specialise in terrorising people living around Ketu, Owode-Elede, Ajelogo, Alapere and Mile 12, including those collecting illegal fees from motorists.
The enforcement exercise, according to the Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force, SP Olayinka Egbeyemi was to rid the streets off street trading and miscreants and provide conducive environment for the people of the state.
Egbeyemi enjoined members of the public, particularly traders to desists from either hawking goods or displaying them on road setbacks/walkways, saying that the agency would not relent in enforcing every dictates of both the Lagos State Road Traffic Laws of 2012 and the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Laws.
However, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni had directed that those arrested be charge to court immediately.
One of the arrested traders at Mile 12, Mrs Awawu Adeyemi who discolsed that she had a shop inside the main market claimed that customers no longer patronise them because of those outside hawking and selling on the road.
She said that prompted her to joined them outside to hawk and sell on the road in order to make sales.
She, however, pleaded with the government to temper justice with mercy.
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