In consolidation of existing efforts aimed at reducing the spate of environmental nuisances to the barest minimum in the metropolis, the Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) popularly known as KAI effected the removal of 54 illegal shanties which harboured 84 illegal occupants and eight make-shift toilets beneath Eko Bridge at the Ebute-Ero area of the State on Monday.
This disclosure was made by the Corps Marshal of the Agency, Major Olaniyi Olatunbosun Cole (rtd) who led the dislodgement operation.
According to the Corps Marshal, ‘‘The Elegbeta Water Channel which spans the Lagos Lagoon right under the Eko Bridge around the Ebute-Ero axis turned home to miscreants, illegal occupants occupying the waterfront, usually in the habit of promoting indiscriminate dumping of refuse into the lagoon, activating the base of the bridge as a criminal hideout and enjoining open defecation, urination have been removed after serving the squatters a seven-day abatement notice which was not adhered to’’.
Cole appreciated the laudable leadership of the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, stressing that the mandate of the Agency to maintain a cleaner and greener environment as enshrined in the THEMES+ agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu remains paramount and sacrosanct to the collective cleanliness of the State’s environs.
The Corps Marshal also sounded a strong warning to environmental defaulters, usually in the habit of indiscriminate dumping of refuse into drains and water bodies, and erection of illegal structures on road setbacks, lay-bys, kerbs, medians and verges. He maintained that the law will soon catch up with all those involved in due course and deal decisively with defaulters who show clear disregard for the State’s environmental laws.
The KAI boss also echoed the need for commuting Lagos residents to make appropriate use of pedestrian bridges instead of crossing highways, affirming that defaulters will be arrested and prosecuted on a daily to serve as a deterrent to others. Also, Cole enjoined Lagosians to be more safety-conscious as the yuletide approaches as he made a case for law enforcement to be provided with community-based intelligence when security issues are identified.
