LAWMA TO ARREST BUYERS PATRONISING ILLEGAL ROADSIDE TRADERS IN LAGOS
Read Time:2 Minute, 8 Second
By:Aminat Tajudeen
The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has announced plans to arrest and prosecute residents who patronise traders operating illegally on roads, medians, walkways, setbacks and other unauthorised public spaces across the state.
The enforcement is set to commence next week and will be carried out in line with Section 151(2) of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law 2017.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, disclosed this at the Authority’s headquarters on Tuesday.
Gbadegesin said the measure was part of a renewed enforcement strategy aimed at tackling illegal trading, indiscriminate waste disposal and the obstruction of public infrastructure across Lagos.
He explained that enforcement would no longer target only illegal traders, as residents who patronise them would also be held accountable under the law.
“The law does not only prohibit illegal street trading. It also makes it an offence to buy goods exposed or offered for sale in prohibited places. From next week, anyone found buying from traders operating on roadsides, medians, walkways, setbacks or other unauthorised spaces will be arrested, alongside the traders, and prosecuted in accordance with the law,” he said.
According to the LAWMA boss, anyone convicted of the offence could face a fine of N90,000, six months’ imprisonment, or both.
Gbadegesin explained that illegal roadside and median markets often generate large volumes of waste, which are subsequently dumped in drains, roads and other public spaces.
He said such practices obstruct drainage channels, worsen traffic congestion and pose serious risks to public health and environmental safety.
“Our objective is to stop the cycle that allows illegal trading and indiscriminate waste disposal to return after enforcement operations. Traders occupy public spaces because people continue to patronise them. Buyers must understand that their actions sustain the problem and that they are also accountable under the law,” he said.
Gbadegesin added that LAWMA was also intensifying waste collection in inner streets and communities around previously cleared dumping hotspots.
He said identified service gaps would be addressed, while deliberate dumping, redumping and patronage of illegal markets would attract enforcement action.
The LAWMA chief urged residents and businesses to patronise recognised markets and make use of approved waste collection channels.
He stressed that convenience should not come at the expense of public health, environmental sanitation, road safety and the orderly use of shared public spaces.
Gbadegesin reaffirmed LAWMA’s commitment to sustained enforcement, stakeholder engagement and improved waste collection services as part of efforts to eliminate open dumping and maintain a cleaner and healthier Lagos.
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