Olusegun Ariyo
A total of 37 persons, comprising 23 men and 14 women, were arrested in Lagos on Thursday for allegedly removing official government seals and assaulting enforcement personnel.
The arrests stemmed from a series of environmental violations committed in the Kodesoh area of Ikeja.
Authorities say the suspects disregarded previous warnings and engaged in aggressive acts against government operatives during a routine enforcement exercise.
Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, confirmed the arrests in a statement posted on his official X handle on Friday.
He wrote: “Twenty-three male and fourteen female persons were arrested on Thursday for breaking the government seal and assaulting Lagos government enforcement agents after committing environmental infractions at Kodesoh, Ikeja. They will all be prosecuted per the provisions of the state’s relevant laws.”
The suspects are expected to be charged under Lagos State environmental and public order laws, in a move the government says highlights its zero-tolerance stance on defiance of lawful directives.
Reports indicate that the events leading to the arrests occurred on Saturday, May 24, around 2 p.m., when operatives of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) and the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps were on patrol, sensitising traders against placing goods on walkways and road shoulders, and warning against indiscriminate waste disposal.
Some traders reportedly resisted the enforcement, attacked a KAI official, and seized his mobile phone. In response, the authorities sealed all stalls erected on restricted public spaces.
Despite the enforcement action, the sealed stalls were unlawfully reopened by the traders, prompting a swift return by officials, who resealed the structures and apprehended those responsible.
