Operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) uncovered a stun gun and other dangerous items while demolishing over 200 illegal structures erected under the Costain Bridge to restore environmental order, safety, and infrastructural integrity.
The LASTMA officers, during the exercise carried out alongside operatives of the State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC/KAI) and other relevant agencies, also removed unauthorized garages and evacuated long-abandoned trucks that had been converted into criminal hideouts under the Ijora Bridge.
The Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Transportation, Sola Giwa, who led the operation on Friday, stated that the clearance exercise was designed to eradicate incessant traffic robberies, dismantle drug peddling enclaves, and abate chronic environmental nuisances that had plagued the axis for years.
According to him, the exercise, which was also executed along Apapa Road in Ijora, sought to reclaim vital public infrastructure from encroachment and restore environmental sanity across the affected areas.
“No responsible and responsive government would tolerate such brazen lawlessness within critical infrastructural corridors that underpin the State’s socio-economic framework,” Giwa declared.
The Special Adviser condemned the deplorable state of the affected areas, describing the illegal activities and shanty settlements as “a monumental affront to public decency, environmental order, and the collective security of Lagosians.”
Giwa also commended the seamless cooperation among participating agencies and urged residents to remain vigilant, law-abiding, and supportive of government initiatives.
While emphasizing the state’s zero tolerance for environmental contraventions, he warned that any attempt by displaced miscreants or illegal occupants to return to the cleared sites would be met with swift and decisive action.
He further reaffirmed that the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration remains steadfast in its commitment to actualizing a safer, cleaner, and more habitable Lagos, one that truly embodies the spirit of a 21st-century megacity.
