Illegal trading continues to thrive on roadsides, walkways and other unauthorised public spaces across Lagos State, despite a warning by the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) that buyers patronising such markets would be arrested and prosecuted.
Findings by THE WHISTLER show that traders continue to display their goods in prohibited areas, attracting customers and undermining the state government’s efforts to curb illegal trading, indiscriminate waste disposal and obstruction of public infrastructure.
At Obalende on Lagos Island, traders were observed selling goods under a bridge, while a similar situation was recorded at Oyingbo, where trading activities persisted in unauthorised spaces.
In Oshodi, several traders displayed their wares along walkways, with buyers gathering around the stalls to purchase different goods. Similar scenes were observed at Abule-Egba, near a bridge, where traders displayed assorted products and attended to prospective customers.
The situation appeared more chaotic in Oshodi during the early morning and late evening periods, when traders occupied almost every available section of the walkways with their goods, jostling for the attention of potential buyers.
The continued activities suggest that the threat of arrest has yet to deter traders and their customers from using public spaces for commercial transactions.
On September 8, 2026, LAWMA announced in a statement that it would begin arresting and prosecuting people who patronise traders operating illegally on roads, medians, setbacks, walkways and other unauthorised public spaces.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, disclosed the measure at the authority’s headquarters, describing it as part of a renewed enforcement strategy to address illegal trading, indiscriminate waste disposal and the obstruction of public infrastructure.
Gbadegesin said enforcement would extend beyond traders to include buyers who sustain the illegal markets by purchasing goods from them.
According to him, Section 151(2) of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law 2017 provides a basis for prosecuting people who buy goods displayed or offered for sale in prohibited places.
He warned that anyone convicted of the offence could face a fine of N90,000, imprisonment for six months, or both.
The LAWMA chief explained that illegal roadside and median markets frequently generate waste that ends up in drains, on roads and in other public spaces, obstructing drainage channels, worsening traffic conditions and creating public health risks.
He said the authority’s strategy was designed to break the cycle of illegal trading and indiscriminate waste disposal, arguing that traders continued to occupy prohibited spaces because customers patronised them.
Gbadegesin also said LAWMA was strengthening waste collection services in inner streets and communities surrounding previously cleared dumping hotspots, adding that identified service gaps would be addressed.
However, he warned that deliberate dumping, redumping and patronage of illegal markets would attract enforcement.
The authority urged residents and businesses to patronise recognised markets and use approved waste collection channels, stressing that personal convenience should not come at the expense of public health, environmental sanitation, road safety and the orderly use of public spaces.
Gbadegesin reaffirmed LAWMA’s commitment to sustained enforcement, stakeholder engagement and improved waste collection services as part of efforts to eliminate open dumping and achieve a cleaner Lagos.
