The Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps, also known as KAI, in partnership with the Lagos Waste Management Authority, has removed over 650 illegal shanties and shops built under the Idumota Bridge.
The operation, which took place on Thursday, was aimed at dislodging traders who had turned the base of the bridge into a marketplace.
Speaking about the exercise, the Corps Marshal of LAGESC, Major Olaniyi Olatunbosun Cole (retd.), said it was part of efforts to keep Lagos clean and safe.
“The clearance operation, with the code name #LetLagosBreathe, undertaken by our operatives in collaboration with LAWMA, ensured that we dislodged defiant traders erecting shops beneath the bridge, which is hazardous to the integrity of the structure and capable of causing infernos,” he said.
He explained that the government wanted to prevent another fire disaster like the one that happened at Apongbon Bridge. That incident was blamed on traders who set up electrical installations and cooling systems under the bridge, leading to a fire outbreak.
Cole warned traders who build illegal structures under bridges to stop immediately, saying anyone caught would face the law.
“The operation will be continuous,” he added.
He also advised street traders to stop selling in traffic or placing their goods on road setbacks, medians, kerbs, and gutters, as this goes against the state’s environmental laws.
The Corps Marshal further urged pedestrians in Lagos to use pedestrian bridges for their safety while crossing highways.
