Lagos State Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit, a.k.a the Task force has clamped down on defiant squatters along the rail tracks in the Fagba area of the state.
The agency also impounded 359 motorcycles and demolished shanties along the Fagba corridor as a follow up after the launch of the Red Line Rail project.
The two-day operation led by the Chairman of the Agency, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Shola Jejeloye, covered Fagba rail tracks, Iju-Ishaga, Abattoir and Pen Cinema and resulted in the confiscation of motorcycles operating on restricted routes, highways and bridges in those areas.
Jejeloye said: “It was a complex operation seizing these motorcycles from the operators due to the presence of miscreants lurking around the abattoir. They threw stones and objects at us to thwart our mission but they were no match for our tactical superiority.
“The presence of commercial motorcyclists and shanties along the rail tracks pose significant safety risks to residents, passers-by and commuters who choose to patronise both the train and commercial motorcyclists. Clearing them completely improves the aesthetic appeal of the rail area and would also mitigate encroachment on rail infrastructure in the state.”
Jejeloye stated that the criminality and hooliganism, which is prevalent in these areas, are enabled mainly by commercial motorcyclists and squatters who turn to crime and rob innocent residents and train commuters.
He disclosed that the confiscation of motorcycles would go a long way in reducing crime and incidents of bag snatching whose most perpetrators use motorcycles as a get-away means.
