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 yesterday, 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.”
He added that anyone convicted of the offence could face a fine of N90,000, imprisonment for six months, or both.
According to the LAWMA boss, illegal roadside and median markets often generate waste that is dumped in drainage channels, roads and other public spaces.
He said such activities contribute to blocked drains, worsening traffic conditions and increased public health risks.
“Our objective is to stop the cycle that allows illegal trading and indiscriminate waste disposal to return after enforcement operations. Traders occupy public spaces because people continue to patronise them,” Gbadegesin said.
“Buyers must understand that their actions sustain the problem and that they are also accountable under the law.”
Gbadegesin said LAWMA was also strengthening waste collection in inner streets and communities surrounding previously cleared dumping hotspots.
He noted that identified service gaps would be addressed, while deliberate dumping, redumping and patronage of illegal markets would attract enforcement.
He urged residents and businesses to patronise recognised markets and use approved waste collection channels, stressing that personal convenience should not come at the expense of public health, environmental sanitation, road safety and the orderly use of public spaces.
Gbadegesin reaffirmed LAWMA’s commitment to sustained enforcement, stakeholder engagement and improved waste collection services as part of efforts to eliminate open dumping and achieve a cleaner Lagos.
