The Lagos Waste Management Authority has warned that residents who patronise traders operating illegally on roads, medians, walkways, setbacks and other unauthorised public spaces will be arrested and prosecuted from next week.
In a post obtained from its Facebook account, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, disclosed this at the authority’s headquarters on Tuesday, saying the measure was part of a renewed enforcement strategy to curb illegal trading, indiscriminate waste disposal and obstruction of public infrastructure across Lagos State.
Gbadegesin said enforcement would no longer target only illegal traders, as buyers who patronise them would also be held accountable under the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law 2017.
“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,” he 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.”
