OYRLEA evacuates 334 destitute people from roadside in Ibadan

Oyo State Rule of Law Enforcement Authority’s (OYRLEA) clean-up exercise, which began on Tuesday, entered its third day on Thursday with the evacuation of 334 destitute people from different parts of Ibadan to the camp built for them by the state government at Akinyele Community.

The clean-up exercise was carried out by OYRLEA alongside the enforcement team comprising the Ministry of Environment, the Oyo State Environmental Task Force, the Oyo State Road Traffic Maintenance Authority (OYRTMA), the Oyo State Waste Management Authority (OYWMA), the Oyo State Police Command, Amotekun Corps and Joint Security Taskforce codenamed Operation Burst.

The evacuated destitute comprised males, females, and children of both genders.

The team moved through Idi Ape, Iwo Road, Airport-Gbagi Road, Gate, NTA Road, Mokola, Sango to Ojoo before heading to the destitute camp.

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Before the commencement of the enforcement on Tuesday, the Nigerian Tribune learnt that OYRLEA and the team paid a visit to the camp on Monday to carry out an inspection in order to confirm its being in good condition and habitable.

Arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday were those who engaged in indiscriminate trading on the roadside and setbacks, illegal parking of vehicles and vehicle sales in setbacks, among others.

Speaking on the clean-up exercise, the Chairperson of OYRLEA, Hon. Justice Aderonke Adekemi Aderemi (Rtd), said that the Authority was carrying out its mandate as stated in its law with an operation tagged “Clean Up Ibadan.”

According to Justice Aderemi, “we have gone out with this enforcement team because we are very much aware of this week’s coronation.

“What we did from Monday to first have a glimpse of the destitute camp at Akinyele to see how the place was so that we would have a place to put those found on the streets and in public places.

“On Tuesday, we started the clean-up exercise, starting from Airport Road to Isebo to Gbagi to the old and new Ife Roads.

“We also went to where traders were selling their wares on the road, medians, and setbacks. They were arrested and they, with their wares, were taken before the Tribunal.

“Also, we arrested those who illegally parked their vehicles on the roads. The same happened to those with tricycles and motorcycles. In addition, we arrested those selling vehicles on road setbacks and impounded the vehicles.

“On the third day, which is today, Thursday, we went around Ibadan city to clean it up of the destitute. We picked 334 of them and conveyed them to the destitute’s camp at Akinyele.”

She said that the feeding of the destitute people would be taken care of on Thursday and Friday, which is the coronation day, to keep them in the camp.

She congratulated the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, and Governor Seyi Makinde for the coronation ceremony,

One of the destitute people, Aisha, aged 18, who claimed to have hailed from Ode-Omu in Osun State, disclosed that she ran away from home some months ago and started sleeping under the bridge at Iwo Road, Ibadan, where she met and started dating another destitute person, Ismail Olamilekan.

Currently in the first trimester of pregnancy, Aisha said she didn’t know what made her leave her parents for the streets as they didn’t maltreat her.

Her lover, Olamilekan a.k.a Omoga, aged 25, said he was making money from offloading hide skin (ponmo) from vehicles and used to sleep on the streets because the job was usually done in the night into the early hours of the following day.

Another destitute person, a left arm amputee who gave his name as Niyi Abiodun, said he used to come from Ile-Ife in Osun State to beg for alms in Ibadan to feed his four children.

He told Tribune Online that the mother of his children left him when things got tough, adding that he had no choice but to beg as a result of his physical challenge.

A female Hausa girl, who is also among the destitute people, said they would not stop begging except Governor Makinde gives each of them money to do business and also provides places for they can stay to do their trading. She said that they could not bear to stay hungry.

Officials from the Ministry of Environment were seen sharing packed food containing jollof rice and fish with each of the destitute people.

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