Many stalls and illegal structures located by the roadside in Abule Egba area were demolished on Tuesday by men of the Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Special Offence.
The demolition exercise which was carried out by operatives of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) brigade and policemen caused panic as errant hawkers and street traders carted their wares to safety while the less fortunate ones had their goods confiscated by the Task Force.
Some motorcycles were also impounded with their commercial operators during the raid carried out by the Task Force on the Abule Egba axis of Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.
Some of the impounded goods included bread, assorted fruits, roasted fish and frozen dairy products.
It was gathered that the operation which caught the traders unawares started at about 4:00 p.m. and was still ongoing as at 6:30 p.m. when our correspondent left the scene.
A fruit vendor, who declined to be named, said: “We don’t really know what the state government wants from us. We have been paying levies to local government authority on daily basis, yet the Task Force people came here to chase us away. We are not even blocking the way but they still destroy our goods and stalls. This is not fair at all.”
“This place is a recognised night market and we have not constituted any nuisance to the free flow of traffic,” said a fish seller. “We do not know why the state government wants to send us out of business. This is where we make little money to take care of our family and government should not throw us into joblessness by impounding our goods.”
Residents and commuters, however, praised the agency for dislodging street traders and hawkers, saying their presence had contributed to traffic gridlock in the area.
A motorist who identified himself as Adeoti said: “Taking the street traders and hawkers off the road is the best decision by the state government. They (street traders) have been disturbing the free flow of traffic in this axis lately. As you can see, the road is free now and there is no gridlock anymore after the traders were chased away.”
A cross-section of commercial motorcyclists popularly called Okada in the area, however, urged the state government to discontinue raids targeted at clogging their operations.
A cyclist, Isiaka Adeyori, said: “We thought that the days of our lamentations were over until today when men of the Task Force stormed this area and impounded our motorbikes. Please, help us plead with Gov Akinwunmi Ambode to show us mercy by calling on the Task Force to stop the raid so we can continue to eke legitimate living without fear.”
An official of the agency who craved anonymity because he was not permitted to speak in official capacity said the traders had been forewarned to quit the road, adding that their recalcitrant attitude left the agency with no choice than to dislodge them from the roadside.