37 Street Traders Arrested For Breaking Gov’t Seal In Lagos
No fewer than 37 street traders were arrested on Thursday at Kodesoh in Ikeja, Lagos, for breaking government seals and assaulting sanitation officials during an environmental enforcement operation.
The Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources confirmed that the traders, comprising 23 men and 14 women, were apprehended following a coordinated raid by officers of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), popularly known as KAI.
According to the ministry, the crackdown follows an incident last Saturday around 2:00 p.m., when KAI patrol teams ordered traders to remove their wares from public walkways and roadsides.
Rather than comply, some of the traders reportedly turned violent, attacking a KAI officer, seizing his mobile phone, and resisting lawful directives.
“All the stalls erected on the walkways and roadside were sealed, but in a defiant action, all the government seals were removed and the traders resumed trading this morning,” a statement by the spokesperson of the ministry, Mr Kunle Adeshina, stated.
In response, enforcement officers returned to the location early Thursday morning, around 7:00 a.m., under the directive of the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab.
The operation led to the resealing of the illegal stalls and the arrest of the traders involved.
The ministry says the suspects will be charged in court in line with the provisions of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Management Law of 2017.
“They will all soon have their day in court in accordance with the provisions of the 2017 Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Management Law. #CleanerLagos,” the statement added.
37 Street Traders Arrested For Breaking Gov’t Seal In Lagos is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
