By CHIAZO OGBOLU

The Lagos State Government has demolished more than 200 illegal shanties, and evacuated derelict vehicles sprawling around Apapa Road, Ijora, and Costain under bridges.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr. Sola Giwa, confirmed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

Giwa also disclosed that during the operation, personnel of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) made a shocking discovery.

“A dummy firearm and other dangerous weapons clandestinely concealed within makeshift structures beneath the bridges.

“This is a manifestation of the state’s relentless commitment to urban regeneration, environmental rectitude, and safeguarding of public order,” he said.

He said the large-scale clearance operation was meticulously coordinated through a synergy of inter-governmental agencies.

According to him, the exercise strategically targets the reclamation and sanitisation of critical public spaces.

“These spaces have been desecrated by unlawful habitation, environmental degradation, and nefarious criminal activities.

“The alarming discovery of the dummy gun underscores the exigency of the intervention.

“It also validated the state government’s proactive stance against festering criminal hideouts in key transportation corridors,” he said.

Giwa decried the appalling condition of the affected areas.

He characterised the unlawful activities and shanty settlements as a monumental affront to public decency, environmental order, and the collective security of Lagosians.

“No responsive and responsible government will countenance such brazen lawlessness within vital infrastructural zones that sustain the state’s socio-economic engine,“ he said.

The special adviser reiterated that the exercise was designed to eradicate incessant traffic robberies.

He added that it aimed to dismantle drug peddling enclaves, and abate chronic environmental nuisances that had plagued the axis for years.

He added that the operation equally led to the removal of unauthorised garages.

“Also, evacuation of long-abandoned trucks, which had been converted into criminal dens under the Ijora Bridge,” he said.

Giwa reaffirmed the unwavering determination of government to sustain the tempo of urban renewal and environmental enforcement across the metropolis.

He warned that any attempt by displaced miscreants or illegal occupants to return to the cleared sites would be met with swift and decisive sanctions.

He reaffirmed that Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration remainer irrevocably committed to actualising a safer, cleaner, and more habitable Lagos.

“One that reflects the true spirit of a 21st-century megacity,” Giwa said.

NAN reports that the multi-agency exercise featured robust participation from the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, Kick Against Indiscipline, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority and the Nigeria Police Force.

They all work in concert to restore environmental order, safety, and infrastructural integrity.

Other affected areas included Apapa Road, Ijora, and Costain under bridges inward Iponri where similar demolitions were executed.

It aims to dismantle criminal hideouts and reclaim encroached public spaces. (NAN)