Lagos to Prosecute Roadside Buyers With N90,000 Fine or 6 Months Jail Starting Next Week

The Lagos State Government has announced plans to begin the arrest and prosecution of residents who patronize traders operating in unauthorized public spaces from next week.

The government said the enforcement, to be led by the Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, would target both sellers and buyers caught transacting on roads, medians, walkways, setbacks and other prohibited areas across the state.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, disclosed this on Tuesday at the agency’s headquarters in Ikeja. He described the measure as part of renewed efforts to address illegal trading, indiscriminate waste disposal and the obstruction of public infrastructure.

According to Gbadegesin, the enforcement derives its authority from Section 151(2) of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law 2017, which criminalises the purchase of goods displayed for sale in prohibited places.

“From next week, anyone found buying from traders operating on roadsides, medians, walkways, setbacks or other unauthorised spaces will be arrested alongside the traders and prosecuted in accordance with the law,” he stated.

He added that offenders convicted under the provision risk a fine of N90,000, imprisonment for a term of six months, or both.

“The law does not only prohibit illegal street trading. It also makes it an offence to buy goods exposed or offered for sale in prohibited places,” the LAWMA boss said.

Gbadegesin explained that illegal roadside and median markets have become major sources of environmental degradation in the state. He noted that such trading points often result in indiscriminate waste disposal, with refuse dumped into drainage channels, on roads and other public spaces.

The development, he said, has worsened flooding, aggravated traffic congestion and exposed residents to public health hazards.

“Our objective is to stop the cycle that allows illegal trading and indiscriminate waste disposal to return after enforcement operations,” he said. “Traders occupy public spaces because people continue to patronize them. Buyers must understand that their actions sustain the problem and that they are also accountable under the law.”

The LAWMA chief disclosed that the agency was already strengthening waste collection services in inner streets and communities around areas where illegal dumping hotspots had been cleared.

He said identified service gaps would be addressed, but warned that deliberate dumping, re-dumping and patronage of illegal markets would attract immediate enforcement.

Residents and businesses, he urged, should patronize approved markets and make use of designated waste collection channels.

“We want a cleaner Lagos that works for everyone,” Gbadegesin said. “Convenience should not come at the expense of public health, environmental sanitation, road safety and the orderly use of Lagos’ shared spaces.”

He reaffirmed LAWMA’s commitment to sustained enforcement, stakeholder engagement and improved waste collection as part of the state’s drive to eliminate open dumping.