Lagos Task Force Destroys 1,700 Illegal Shanties, Recovers Illegal Substances At Agege
The Operatives of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit on Sunday said it demolished over 1,700 illegal shanties and containerized shops around Fagba Railway lines, Agege.
During the demolition exercise, the state enforcement team was said to have seized illegal drugs found in the structures and machetes used by hoodlums to often terrorize residents of Fagba, Iju-Ishaga, and Pen-Cinema.
It was gathered that the occupants of the structures were served a 7-day Removal Order and another 21-day grace to aid removal of their structures and vacate the premises.
The Chairman of the Agency, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, disclosed that in spite of the notices, the owners/ occupants of the affected shanties and containerized shops refused to leave until the team arrived and pulled them down.
Egbeyemi, in a statement made available to The Guild by Head, Public Affairs Unit for the agency, Adebayo Taofiq, on Sunday, stated that the state government served the notices after receiving series of complaints from residents especially those that have been dispossessed of their belongings, on the criminal activities around the axis.
He said: “The illegal shanties and containerized shops were occupied by miscreants and hoodlums that often terrorized innocent citizens around Fagba, Iju-Ishaga, and Pen-Cinema area, dispossessing residents of their valuables, especially early in the day and late at night”.
Egbeyemi further disclosed that investigations conducted on the axis revealed that the miscreants occupying these illegal shanties were responsible for the destructions of public properties and looting of shops immediately after the recent ‘EndSARS’ protest around Agege.
“It was an eyesore with hoodlums freely smoking and selling Indian hemp including prostitution by under-age boys and girls around Fagba railway lines”, he added.
The Chairman confirmed that illicit drugs such as Codeine, Skunk, and Tramadol as well as Indian hemp were seized during the demolition exercise.
Egbeyemi, however, enjoined members of the public to support the government in salvaging the state from the clutches of these notorious criminals by reporting any noticeable activities within their communities to security agencies.
