Lagos State Government has commenced arrest and prosecution of motorists who buy goods in traffic.
The enforcement was confirmed when officials of the Environmental Sanitation Corps Agency (LASECORPS) arrested six motorists at Ikeja, along end of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway for allegedly buying goods in the traffic. The offenders’ vehicles, a Honda Accent, Hiace, Toyota Hilux, Toyota Sienna, taxi cab and commercial bus, were also impounded by the agency.
Four passengers and nine hawkers were also apprehended during the operation. On Friday, they were accused of breaching the environmental law and brought before a magistrate, Mr. Olayiwola Ogundare of the Ogba Magistrate’s Court, who sentenced them to three months’ imprisonment each. Ogundare, however, gave the accused an option of N10,000 fine each, adding that each of the motorists should pay additional N20,000 fine into the state coffers.
Speaking yesterday, Head of Public Affairs Unit for LASECORPS, Rahmat Alabi, said the arrest was in line with the Environmental Sanitation Law, 2015. Alabi added that the Corps Marshal of the agency, CSP Bola Jimoh (retd.), stated that LASECORPS was determined to fight the menace of highway hawking. “The corps marshal believes that the enforcement of the Environmental Sanitation Law, 2015 that makes both buyers and sellers liable, will send the expected signal and halt the prevalence of the illegal highway hawking and street trading in the metropolis. If there are no buyers, there will be no sellers,” she said.
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