Lagos deploys patrol team after rail corridor demolitions

The Lagos State Government has commenced the removal of illegal structures and unauthorised occupants along the Lagos–Okokomaiko–Badagry Expressway, warning that the corridor will be subjected to sustained monitoring to prevent fresh encroachments.

The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed this in a statement shared on his official X account on Wednesday, after inspecting the ongoing exercise alongside senior government officials and environmental enforcement agencies.

Wahab said the operation was being carried out by operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Taskforce, Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps, the Lagos Waste Management Authority, and other relevant agencies.

He said the removal was necessary to protect the road median, which was deliberately created by the state government to accommodate the Lagos Rail Mass Transit project.

“The expansive road median was deliberately constructed by the Lagos State Government to accommodate the Lagos Rail Mass Transit project,” Wahab said.

He described the Lagos–Okokomaiko–Badagry corridor as a strategic route serving as a major gateway into Nigeria from other West African countries, stressing that allowing illegal occupation of the area undermined public infrastructure developed with taxpayers’ resources.

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“As a major gateway into Nigeria from other West African countries, this corridor is of significant economic and strategic importance and reflects the image of our state.

“It is therefore unacceptable for such critical public infrastructure, built with taxpayers’ resources, to be occupied by illegal traders and other unauthorised occupants,” the commissioner said.

Wahab said the government would maintain regular enforcement along the corridor, announcing plans to establish a permanent patrol team to prevent the return of illegal occupants.

“We want to assure Lagosians that the state government will sustain regular monitoring and enforcement along this corridor.

“A permanent patrol team will be deployed to ensure that illegal occupants do not return, while preserving the integrity and intended purpose of this vital infrastructure,” he added.

The inspection was conducted alongside the Special Adviser on Environment, Kunle Akodu; Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services, Mahmoud Adegbite; Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Gaji Tajudeen; Chairman of the Lagos State Taskforce, Adebayo Akerele; Managing Director of LAWMA, Muyiwa Gbadegesin; and other directors from the ministry.