The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has announced plans to commence the arrest and prosecution of residents who patronise traders operating on roads, medians, walkways, setbacks and other unauthorised public spaces across the state.
The enforcement, which is expected to begin next week, will target not only illegal roadside traders but also their customers, as the state government intensifies efforts to curb indiscriminate waste disposal, obstruction of public infrastructure and other environmental violations.
The agency’s Director of Public Affairs, Mukaila Sanusi, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, quoting LAWMA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Muyiwa Gbadegesin.
Gbadegesin explained that the proposed enforcement was in line with the provisions of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law, 2017, which, he said, criminalises both illegal trading in prohibited locations and the purchase of goods offered for sale in such places.
According to him, residents who knowingly patronise roadside traders would henceforth be treated as part of the problem and could face the same legal consequences as the traders themselves.
“The law does not only prohibit illegal street trading. It also makes it an offence to buy goods exposed or offered for sale in prohibited places,” Gbadegesin said.
“From next week, anyone found buying from traders operating on roadsides, medians, walkways, setbacks or other unauthorised spaces will be arrested, alongside the traders, and prosecuted in accordance with the law.”
He said anyone convicted of the offence could be fined N90,000, sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, or subjected to both penalties.
The LAWMA boss linked illegal roadside trading to the growing problem of indiscriminate waste disposal in public spaces, explaining that traders and their customers often leave refuse in drains, on road medians and along major thoroughfares.
He said the practice contributed to blocked drainage channels, traffic congestion, environmental degradation and public health risks.
“Our objective is to stop the cycle that allows illegal trading and indiscriminate waste disposal to return after enforcement operations,” he said.
“Traders occupy public spaces because people continue to patronise them. Buyers must understand that their actions sustain the problem and that they are also accountable under the law.”
The announcement comes as LAWMA intensifies enforcement against illegal waste disposal, unauthorised waste collection and other environmental offences across Lagos.
LAWMA disengages sweepers over alleged illegal dumping
In a related development, the authority recently disengaged some street sweepers, their supervisors and the service provider responsible for their operations following allegations of indiscriminate waste dumping along the Oworonshoki-Berger axis.
LAWMA said its investigation and surveillance operations established that the affected workers were allegedly involved in dumping waste on a road median that had become a recurring waste blackspot.
Gbadegesin, in a post on the authority’s Facebook page on Saturday, said the affected sweepers confessed during the investigation.
He said their disengagement was intended to demonstrate that LAWMA would not tolerate violations by personnel or contractors entrusted with maintaining the cleanliness of the state.
“The sweepers, their supervisors and the service provider were disengaged from the cleaning operation to underscore the Authority’s commitment to ensuring that all personnel and service providers engaged in waste management in the State upheld the standards expected of them and did not contribute to the environmental challenges they were engaged to address,” he said.
Gbadegesin added that the authority would continue to investigate recurring waste disposal hotspots and sanction individuals and organisations found culpable of indiscriminate dumping.
“Our responsibility is to keep Lagos clean, and everyone involved in that responsibility must play their part. Where our investigations establish that anyone is contributing to the problem, appropriate action will be taken. There will be no exceptions,” he said.