The Lagos state government theougj the Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) popularly known as KAI on Tuesday revealed that 17 suspects apprehended for converting pedestrian bridges into sleeping areas and vandalising the polycarbonate roofing sheets have been found guilty by a Lagos Magistrate Court sitting at Bolade-Oshodi.
The Corps Marshal of the Agency, Major Olaniyi Olatunbosun Cole (rtd), who made this disclosure today at the Agency’s Command Headquarters, Bolade-Oshodi, added that ‘‘While it is evident to extol the successes of our enforcement operation in recent weeks against criminal elements causing hindrance to pedestrians, we consolidated on our drive by arresting 17 miscreants who damaged polycarbonate roofing sheets meant to shield pedestrians from the weather and turning these materials into makeshift beds for sleeping which is a clear infraction on public utilities”.
Cole further stated that the 17 suspects arrested around the Dopemu, Onilekere, Airport road and Ikeja Along pedestrian bridges of the State, were arraigned before Senior Magistrate C.K Tunji Careena (Mrs.) of the Lagos State Special Offences (Mobile Court) sitting at Bolade-Oshodi on a single charge bordering on the destruction of government property. The Court found all 17 suspects guilty and subsequently sentenced them to one-month imprisonment without the option of a fine.
The KAI Boss expressed delight with the judgment, adding that it would serve as a deterrent to others to desist from sabotaging government property for their frivolous gains in defiance of the State’s Criminal and Environmental Laws.
Similarly, Cole underscored the need for Lagosians to desist from street trading, warning traders to refrain from displaying their wares for sale in traffic, gutters, setbacks, road verges, medians, and herbs, just as he implored Lagos residents to dispose of refuse properly via approved PSP-operators.
