The Lagos State Taskforce has issued a 72-hour quit notice to street traders and illegal occupants operating along the Alaba Rago corridor of the Mile 2–Badagry Expressway ahead of a planned enforcement exercise aimed at restoring environmental order in the area.
The operation, which will be carried out in collaboration with other enforcement agencies, is targeted at illegal trading activities on highways, walkways, road medians and setbacks in line with the state’s environmental laws and ban on street trading.
Chairman of the Lagos State Taskforce, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Adetayo Akerele, said the exercise forms part of ongoing efforts to enforce the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law as well as other regulations designed to promote environmental sanity across the metropolis.
According to Akerele, persistent illegal trading and environmental violations along the corridor have attracted numerous complaints from motorists, pedestrians, residents, visitors entering the country through the Seme border and other environmental stakeholders.
He stated that the enforcement exercise would address the proliferation of makeshift shops, illegal structures, mini brothels, used plastic depots, indiscriminate waste disposal, unregulated trading activities and other environmental infractions affecting the area.
Akerele explained that the operation is being coordinated under the supervision of the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, led by Commissioner Tokunbo Wahab.
Speaking during a sensitisation and public enlightenment campaign, the taskforce chairman urged traders and occupants affected by the directive to vacate the area voluntarily within 72 hours to avoid sanctions.
He described the Alaba Rago corridor along the Lagos–Badagry Expressway, popularly known as the ECOWAS Road, as a strategic gateway that must be protected from illegal activities and environmental degradation.
Akerele warned that upon the expiration of the 72-hour notice, goods belonging to violators would be confiscated and offenders prosecuted in accordance with the law.
