By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos
No fewer than 5,520 vehicles and 11,300 commercial motorcycles popularly known as “Okada” have been impounded within a year by the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offonces Enforcement Unit (Taskforce), New Nigerian has learnt.
They were said to have been contravened over various offences ranging from driving on BRT Corridor, One-Way, dangerous driving and traffic obstruction.
Our correspondent reliably gathered that drivers of the vehicles were charged to court in line with the severity of the crimes committed on the roads.
Out of the 11,300 Okadas impounded, 11,180 of them were said to have been crushed during the year under review.
Chairman of the Agency CSP Shola Jejeloye while confirming the report said the Taskforce is going to make Lagos uninhabitable for recalcitrant Okada riders, who are hell-bent on frustrating the efforts of the government in sanitising its highways and environment.
He noted that the operations were carried out to clamp down on infractions of the Traffic and Environmental Laws of the State and curb criminal activities while entrenching sanity in the system.
According to him, the operatives of the Task Force had also impounded 5,520 vehicles for various offences, including driving on BRT Corridor, One-Way, dangerous driving and traffic obstruction, while drivers of the vehicles were charged to court in line with the severity of the crimes committed on the roads.
CSP Jejeloye averred that he will leave no stone unturned in carrying out environmental monitoring and clearing of shanties as done in places like Lekki Coastal Road, Railway Line, Ijora, White Sand, Breweries and Iwaya in Yaba axis of Lagos among others last year.
In his words: “These shanties were built haphazardly without any form of environmental provision for waste disposal or drainage channels. This is why most of these areas are flooded and overwhelmed whenever it rains. We will not condone it any longer”.
“Wetlands, which are very common attributes of a Coastal State like Lagos, if not properly managed could worsen the flooding usually experienced during the rainy season. We have to make sure they are not encroached upon by illegal occupants. That is the reason we partnered with other MDAs to reclaim wetlands like Odo-Iyalaro”, he added.
Illegal mechanic workshops located in almost every corner of the State were not left out, as CSP Jejeloye hinted that a team of officers is in place to carry out extensive surveillance of key areas where the workshops are located and ensure they are dislodged while offending operators will also be charged to court for flouting the States Environmental Laws.
The Chairman said: “We will clamp down on illegal workshops in the nooks and crannies of the State that are obstructing traffic on our inner roads, disposing of their waste indiscriminately and polluting the environment. We had dislodged them at Maryland, Apapa, Surulere, Lawanson and other areas of the State last year and we will do more this year”.
He hinted that the operation tagged “Kogberegbe”, which was launched last year, is still in force and that his team will make sure that Lagos achieves its zero tolerance for criminal elements, black spots, okada operation on restricted routes and other environmental law offenders until the State is no longer undermined by anyone.
Jejeloye also restated the commitment of the Taskforce to partner the general public and other enforcement agencies for enhanced service delivery, saying “If you see something, say something. We can only achieve these goals through a collective and combined efforts of the public as well as other security agencies in order to achieve the desired goal”.
