Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps Agency (LASECORPS) otherwise known as Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) has begun a crackdown on those involved in street trading, as it arrested, prosecuted and sent to jail at the weekend hawkers in traffic and motorists who patronised them along the Lagos–Abeokuta Expressway and Oshodi axis of the state.
In all, a total of six vehicles were impounded, while nine sellers and four buyers were arraigned at the Samuel Ilori Court at Ogba, presided over by Magistrate Ogundare Olayiwola.
They were prosecuted and asked to pay fines, having been found guilty of charges brought against them in accordance with the State’s Environmental Sanitation Law, 2015.
The Agency said this in a statement made available by its Head of Public Affairs Unit, Alabi Rahmat, saying the affected sellers include, Ibrahim Sulaimon, Sunday Raphael, Chidioke Nwobonyin, Onweye Sunday, while buyers were Pheto Audu, Itoto Dorah, Rose Aleka and Suraju Opeyemi.
The statement said the arrested hawkers were sentenced to three months imprisonment with an option fine of N10,000 only having found guilty of the offence they were charged with while convicted buyers were equally sentenced in like manner.
The Corps Marshal of KAI, CSP Jimoh Amusat Bola (rtd), who spoke shortly after the operations, emphasized that LASECORPS would from now effect the arrest of both the buyers and sellers, motorist inclusive for subsequent arraignment and prosecution at the magistrate level in the Environmental Law Court of the state.
He said this would be done as part of its new strategies at combating the menace of illegal highway hawking activities in the state.
According to him, the enforcement of the Environmental Sanitation Law, 2015 that makes both the buyers and sellers liable to the offence would send the expected signal and halt the increasing prevalence of the illegal highway hawking activities and street trading in the metropolis, adding that, “If there are no buyers, there would be no sellers.”
It would be recalled that the state government has embarked on continuous sensitization for the citizen on the dangers inherent in illegal hawking and street trading via the mass media but despite this, street traders and hawkers are still found on the major highways in the state.
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