The Lagos State government on Sunday, October 11, sealed off a filling station as well as 24 other buildings for what it described as developing illegal stalls on road setbacks and harbouring street traders whose activities contributed to littering and indiscriminate waste disposal.
The government, through the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), carried out the exercise on Sunday morning along the Ago Palace Way, Okota area of the state.
It was gathered that the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, led the intervention, with management staff joining operational teams in the exercise, which targeted recurrent illegal dumping on road medians and around bridge abutments.
During the exercise, a Mobil Filling Station as well as 24 other buildings were sealed off for the infractions, especially regarding indiscriminate waste disposal.
The operation also featured a massive deployment of compactor trucks, a payloader, tipper trucks and street sweepers to clear accumulated waste and restore environmental order along the affected area.
The exercise also resulted in the arrest of some cart pushers involved in illegal waste disposal, including one Shamusi Murtala, who identified himself as being from Katsina State and admitted to dumping waste on road medians.
When he was questioned, Murtala disclosed that he collected as much as ₦5,000 from each building to dispose of waste on the median.
He is expected to be prosecuted later this week in line with the state environmental laws.
The intervention received support from operatives of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit (Taskforce) and the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) team.
