Lagos Govt dislodges avenue merchants alongside Ojo-Alaba Street, arrests three for obstructing operation 

The Lagos State Authorities on Saturday cleared unlawful avenue merchants from the median of Ojo-Alaba Street in a joint operation by LAGESC and LAWMA, throughout which three people have been arrested for obstructing enforcement.

This disclosure was made by the Lagos State Commissioner for the Setting and Water Assets, Tokunbo Wahab, in a publish on his official X account on Saturday, June 7, 2025.

In accordance with Wahab, the clearance operation was a part of the state’s ongoing marketing campaign to revive environmental order and guarantee public security on Lagos roads. He said that the arrested people could be charged in accordance with related Lagos State legal guidelines.

“A joint operation of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps @LAGESCOfficial and the Lagos Waste Administration Company @Lawma_gov carried out a clearance operation alongside Ojo – Alaba Rd, dislodging unlawful merchants promoting on the median. 

“Throughout the train, 3 people have been arrested for obstructing the federal government operation, and they are going to be tried in accordance with the related legal guidelines of Lagos State,” Wahab’s publish learn.   

Accompanying the commissioner’s publish was a video clip exhibiting operatives dismantling makeshift kiosks that had overtaken the street median.

The footage revealed a bit of the median transformed into industrial stalls, with a number of being torn down and scattered refuse from buying and selling actions.

The video additionally confirmed operatives visibly bundling one of many merchants who tried to impede the clearance earlier than escorting him right into a authorities van.

The federal government has repeatedly warned that avenue buying and selling on street medians creates environmental and security hazards, obstructs visitors move, and endangers each pedestrians and motorists.

The Lagos State Authorities has persistently tackled the persistent downside of unlawful avenue buying and selling in prohibited areas resembling street setbacks, drainage channels, below bridges, and alongside rail strains.

Regardless of repeated clearance efforts, merchants ceaselessly return to those areas, creating ongoing environmental hazards and compromising public security. These encroachments impede visitors move, block drainage methods, and endanger pedestrians and motorists alike.

Extra not too long ago, in March 2025, buildings encroaching on setbacks and drainage alignments alongside the Alaba Worldwide drainage channel have been dismantled to mitigate flooding dangers and make sure the free passage of stormwater.