Lagos taskforce clears encroachment on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway

….over 120 bikes confiscated

Operatives of the Lagos State Taskforce have cleared the encroachment on the service lane of the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway at Ladipo spare parts market.

Traders have turned the stretch of the road from the entrance of Ladipo Street to the frontage of Rutam House, publishers of The Guardian Newspapers, to trading spot where illegal traders displayed their goods and carry out mechanical activities.

The operation which took place over the weekend lasted for over five hours and was led by the Chairman of the Agency, Shola Jejeloye, a CSP, who blamed traffic congestion along that route on the activities of traders who had refused to adhere to laid down environmental laws of the State concerning displaying of goods haphazardly and obstructing the free flow of traffic.

He described the activities of traders operating on the service lane as selfish and inconsiderate as a result of the fact that their actions have ripple effects on Lagosians who ply that route and spend more than the necessary amount of time in traffic.

Speaking further, Jejeloye disclosed that the Taskforce was at the same spot a year ago to clear up the obstruction and also issued warnings to the illegal occupants but it fell on deaf ears.

“We have been here in the past to carry out this same operation but unfortunately the illegal occupants have returned to the same spot to trade and inconvenience Lagosians. Their activities deface the outlook of the road which is a major corridor that leads in and out of the International Airport. We will ensure that they are pushed back into the designated market complex and anyone found wanting would be arrested,” he said.

Jejeloye further stated that the operation would achieve the aim of preventing environmental degradation as a result of the illegal mechanical activities and also ease the mobility of motorists plying the route.

He appealed to the market union leaders to sensitize their members on the need to obey environmental laws of the state and restrict their activities to the sites allotted by the government.

In a related development, the Taskforce also raided shanties and hideouts where recalcitrant Okada operators take off from and operate on restricted routes along Lekki, Bariga, Gbagada and Oshodi-Apapa axis of the State.

The sting operation which also took place over the weekend, was targeted at Okada operators that still ply major highways and restricted routes, despite the ban placed on them.
Over 120 bikes were confiscated during the course of the operation, while five Okada operators were arrested and will be charged to court.