The Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPP&UD), through the Lagos State Informal Space Management Authority (LASISMA), has commenced a sensitisation and enforcement campaign against the illegal occupation of road setbacks and statutory corridors reserved for public institutions and critical government infrastructure.
The exercise, which began on Monday, August 24, 2026, was carried out around the perimeter of the newly constructed Ojo General Hospital, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway near the LASU-Iba Road Junction.
During the exercise, officials sensitised occupants of the affected areas and issued contravention notices with a seven-day compliance period to individuals and businesses found occupying the designated spaces illegally.
Speaking with journalists after the exercise, LASISMA General Manager, TPL Daisi Oso, said the initiative was aimed at reclaiming setbacks around government institutions and restoring them to their intended purposes.
Oso expressed concern over several activities around the hospital, including illegal refuse dumping, an unauthorised fruit market, public toilets, a planks market and shanties operated by illegal occupants.
He said such activities were incompatible with the status of the newly constructed hospital and could negatively affect physical orderliness, public health and security in the area.
According to him, protecting the hospital’s access routes is particularly important because unrestricted access is essential for patients, especially those requiring emergency medical attention.
Oso said the state government had directed the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, through LASISMA, to reclaim encroached spaces around public institutions and restore them to their designated uses.
He urged traders and other illegal occupants to vacate the affected areas, stressing that road setbacks and spaces reserved for public institutions must not be converted for unauthorised activities.
The LASISMA boss warned that the government would no longer tolerate indiscriminate encroachment on public spaces across the state.
He explained that the initial exercise focused on sensitisation and the issuance of contravention notices, giving affected occupants seven days to vacate the areas. Further enforcement action, he said, would commence after the compliance period.
Oso added that the entire perimeter of Ojo General Hospital had been affected by encroachment, with notices being served on all identified illegal occupants.
He also disclosed that the government had plans to eventually redevelop and properly manage the spaces surrounding the hospital, introducing complementary uses that would improve the facility’s functionality and environment.
The enforcement operation was supported by town planners from the Technical Services Department of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, alongside LASISMA officials.
Representatives of various media organisations also attended the exercise to provide wider coverage of the government’s efforts to promote the orderly, safe and sustainable use of public spaces across Lagos State.
