Lagos arrests 20 miscreants as hoodlums attack LAWMA operatives

N No fewer than 20 suspected miscreants were arrested by the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps, otherwise known as KAI, at various locations across the state.

This is just as operatives of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, who were monitoring compliance to prevent illegal dumping on road medians, were reportedly attacked by miscreants along the Mile 2-Badagry area of the state.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, announced the arrest of the 20 suspected miscreants on Monday through a post on his verified X.com handle.

A short video showing the suspects being paraded with their backs to the camera accompanied Wahab’s post, which stated, “Over the weekend, operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps arrested 20 miscreants in different locations across the state. This includes Lekki, Ikeja, Oshodi, and other places.”

While it is unclear if any of the officers was injured, LAWMA’s Chief Executive Officer, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, shared images of the damaged vehicle belonging to the operatives on his X.com account on Sunday.

Addressing the issue on his verified account, Gbadegesin revealed that the operatives encountered strong resistance from miscreants believed to be cart pushers in the area.

Gbadegesin’s post read, “Men of the @Lawma_gov Monitoring & Compliance Team rolled out early this morning, 27th October 2024, to address the ravaging indiscriminate dumping of refuse on road medians and road verges by illegal waste collectors (cart pushers).

“The @Lawma_gov Monitoring & Compliance team has encountered resistance from cart pushers, miscreants, and suspected criminal elements along the Mile 2-Badagry axis.

“They (the operatives) are dealing with them decisively, and the miscreants are in retreat. This is an active situation.”

The LAWMA chief also shared a post featuring what appeared to be the agency’s operational vehicles, which had smashed windows and garbage scattered along the roadside.

The photos of the damaged vehicle and the incident scene accompanied Gbadegesin’s post, which read, “Damaged @Lawma_gov operational van and scenes of ongoing environmental violations.”

When contacted for more information about the incident, on Monday, LAWMA spokesperson, Mrs Folashade Kadiri, stated that she was unaware of it but promised to gather details.

“Let me find out. I’m not aware of anything,” she stated.

PUNCH Metro reported the attack on one of LAWMA’s highway workers (a sweeper) on Isolo Road in Lagos in 2022.

According to the agency, the official, who suffered severe injuries from a hammer and was left with a fractured skull, was rushed to the hospital for intensive medical treatment.

The agency continues to link the attacks on its personnel to miscreants’ intentions to undermine its efforts to create a cleaner and healthier state.