Lagos Govt Officials Raid Motor Parks, Seize Alcoholic Drinks Worth N1m
Operatives of the Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), popularly known as KAI, on Tuesday, confiscated alcoholic drinks worth N1m at garages in the state.
The raid was carried out at Olupese Terminal Park and Oshodi-Bolade garages.
According to LAGESC, the raid was part of concerted efforts undertaken by the state government to mitigate the trend of alcohol consumption by commercial drivers across different parks and garages in the state, which it says, has been discovered to be a primary trigger for motor accidents.
This was disclosed by the Corps Marshal of the agency, Major Olaniyi Olatunbosun Cole (rtd), at LAGESC’s headquarters in Bolade-Oshodi.
According to him, the ban on sale of alcohol at garages in the state is still in force, adding that the traders arrested during the raid would be prosecuted.
Cole said: “These drinks remain banned for sale in all parks and garages of the state and the street traders who have since been arrested will be prosecuted in accordance with the state Environmental Laws.”
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Cole highlighted the detrimental effects alcohol can have on the psychological, mental and emotional well-being of motorists. Underscoring the need for commercial drivers to maintain the perfect state of mind, the LAGESC boss said that alcohol inhibits reasoning and makes drivers susceptible to making wrong decisions when transiting passengers.
He encouraged passengers to embrace safety by reporting commercial drivers in the habit of alcohol consumption while on duty.
The Corps Marshal equally read riot act to street traders and hawkers to desist from their banned activities as enshrined in the Environmental Laws of the state just as he maintained that the resolve of the agency in the war against street trading, displaying wares for sale in traffic, on walkways, setbacks, lay-bys, gutter slabs, road verges, medians and kerbs will be sustained and defaulters will be met with stiff opposition.
On crossing main roads without using pedestrian bridges, Cole warned that defaulters are arrested daily by operatives of the agency and made to face prosecution in court to serve as deterrents to others.