The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit has arrested 33 suspects during a coordinated enforcement operation aimed at tackling criminal activities and environmental violations across parts of the state.
The operation targeted Ikate Bus Stop, Marwa Bus Stop, Muri Okunola Park in Victoria Island, Obalende Underbridge, Law School Junction, and other adjoining areas along the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the Taskforce’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem.
According to Abdulraheem, the operation forms part of the agency’s statutory responsibilities and aligns with the Lagos State Government’s THEMES Plus Agenda, particularly its zero-tolerance policy on environmental degradation, drug abuse and criminality.
He said the early morning raid, conducted on Monday, July 27, targeted street urchins, suspected criminals, drug users and peddlers, illegal commercial motorcyclists (Okada riders), street traders, illegal ticket touts and other individuals whose activities pose a threat to public safety and environmental order.
Abdulraheem noted that the selected locations had witnessed an increasing presence of suspected criminal elements, prompting the enforcement exercise.
He disclosed that 33 suspects were arrested during the operation, while officers recovered several exhibits, including substances suspected to be Tramadol, Indian hemp, Colorado, marijuana and cannabis, as well as weapons and other dangerous items such as cutlasses and scissors.
The Taskforce said all the suspects have since been arraigned before the appropriate courts under the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law, 2017, and the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law, 2018, where applicable.
Speaking after the operation, the Chairman of the Lagos State Taskforce, CSP Adetayo Akerele, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to sustaining its crackdown on criminal elements across the state.
He warned that intelligence-led enforcement operations would continue to flush out hoodlums and restore public order.
“Our mandate is clear. We will continue to comb every part of the metropolis to rid Lagos of criminal elements. Anyone whose activities threaten public peace, environmental sanity or the safety of residents will be arrested and made to face the law,” Akerele said.
He also urged task force personnel to maintain the momentum of the ongoing enforcement operations and intensify efforts to combat crime throughout Lagos State.
