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The Lagos State Task Force on environmental services have given squarters in Fagba area of Ifako Ijaye local government up till Monday to relocate.
The quit notice confirmed by Director of Press of the agency,Mr Gbadeyanka AbdulRaheem in a statement Thursday said the notice has been served on the squarters twice within this year but the miscreants have instead increased in numbers.
The Lagos State Taskforce it will be recalled has carried out a follow up eviction operation after it has served a five day eviction notice to squatters and suspected micreants around Lekki Coastal Road and Marwa Gardens.
The operation which was led by the Chairman of the Agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye in the early hours of Tuesday lasted about 5 hours. Jejeloye disclosed that the Lagos State Taskforce had visited the axis times without number but the squatters remained defiant and kept returning after the dust settles.
“We have said it times without number that the clearing of the axis will be a continuous one until the State Government commences construction of the alternative roads. The exercise is also necessary to frustrate criminal activities in the area.”
CSP Jejeloye appealed to owners of structures erected illegally along that axis to remove them before the 5 day grace given to them by the State Government.
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“There are car repair outlets, brothels, viewing centres and kiosks, all erected illegally and haphazardly along the dedicated routes for the construction of the road and we have served them all the 5 day notice to vacate the area or risk having their property brought down by the bulldozer”
Before the operation at the Lekki corridor,the squarters according to the agency have been served series of notices and warnings but without any response by those affected.
In a similar development, the Lagos State Taskforce also served removal/eviction notices to kiosk owners and makeshift shops erected along Fagba Railway Crossing due to the dangers their structure pose for commuters, residents and to themselves.
The Chairman of the Taskforce who led the Lekki operation disclosed that the activities of the petty traders posed a huge safety and security risk around there and also was necessary to ease traffic caused by them.
“These structures erected here have no form of approval whatsoever from the State Government therefore its our reponsibility to ensure that they are removed and Lagosians are allowed to move freely without any obstruction”
Jejeloye warned occupants in the area that strict enforcement exercise begins right after the 5 day eviction notice elapses. He appealed to anyone nursing the idea of selling wares by the rail track to shelve such ideas as the State Government is out to restore sanity around the rail track and its environs.
Meanwhile,the notice to squarters in the Fagba corridor is also coming few days after the Newdawnngr.com published the story depicting the security and environmental nuisance the squarters have posed to the area.
It will be recalled that destruction to lives and property in the area perpetuated by miscreants and squarters living in the make shift kiosks along the road to Lagos Abbatoir and Lairage reached its peak during the 2021 Endsars protest which left many houses burnt and several lives lost.
It is worthy of note that despite having carried out similar exercise about six months ago,the squarters have returned in full forces and higher numbers.
However, much as the Lagos Task Force has intensified efforts to permanerlyv rid the place and other areas in the state of slums,inability to utilise the grace period after demolition of the squarters by sister government agencies to possess the area has been the source of inability to permanently rid the area of slums and undesirable elements who constitute security risk to the area.
In this wise, the Lagos state Park and Gardens, an agency responsible for beautifying the various open spaces to prevent squarters from settling in the cleared spaces is expected to have seized the initiative after demolition exercises to develop the area..
For instance,squarters who now occupy the Fagba Railway line were evicted last year but have since returned when government agencies saddled with the task returned to reoccupy the place six months after the eviction.
For instance,the beautification of the Alausa Gardens is one of the development efforts of the Lagos Park and Gardens after the squarters in the area were cleared few years ago.
Next Mondays clearing of the Fagba squarters is the third time such will take place.
A senior official of the Task Force is of the view that inability of the Parks and Gardens to seize the initiative and possess such open spaces after the squarters have been dislodge is one of the reasons why squarters have continued to develop all over the state with it’s implication for social life,environment and security.
