Operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Enforcement unit (Taskforce) on Wednesday arrested 94 miscreants during the enforcement exercise to dislodge squatters from the Nigeria Railway Corporation in Lagos.
The agency disclosed that the exercise was to continue its mission to maintain the safety and security of residents and ensure Lagosians live in a habitable environment by clearing illegal shanties and makeshift buildings along Pen Cinema to Fagba railway corridor and its environs, covering a distance of about 25 kilometers.
According to the Director of Public Affairs (DPA) Abdulkareem Gbadeyan, the sting operation, which commenced in the early hours of Wednesday, was supervised by the chairman of the agency, CSP Adetayo Akerele, who took illegal occupants and squatters in the corridor by surprise.
Akerele disclosed that the action was necessary to provide residents around Fagba, Agege, and Pen Cinema railway routes a reprieve after a series of complaints were received by the state government and the Police hierarchy concerning the activities of criminal elements residing there, shown a blatant disregard for the state’s environmental and sanitary laws.
“The rail tracks are not meant for habitation or the sale of narcotics. Anyone caught converting this place into a den of criminals or an area of residence will face severe consequences according to the law. Substance suspected to be hard drugs like Indian hemp, colorado, other harmful and dangerous drugs and weapons were confiscated during the raid,” he said.
