By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has declared that, from next week, it will arrest and prosecute persons found buying goods from traders operating illegally on roads, medians, setbacks, walkways and other unauthorised public spaces in Lagos State.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, made the disclosure on Tuesday, 8 September, 2026 on the the official Facebook page of the Lagos State Government.
He explained that the enforcement would be carried out under Section 151(2) of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law 2017.
According to him the measure forms part of a renewed enforcement strategy targeting illegal trading, indiscriminate waste disposal and obstruction of public infrastructure in the state, and extends accountability beyond traders to buyers who sustain the illegal markets.
Gbadegesin said the law prohibits not only street trading in unauthorised locations but also the purchase of goods exposed or offered for sale in such places.
“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. 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 said.
He disclosed that a person convicted under the law could face a fine of N90,000, six months’ imprisonment, or both.
Gbadegesin said 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 congestion and creating public health risks. He said the enforcement was designed to break the cycle of illegal trading and dumping resurfacing after clearance operations.
“Our objective is to stop the cycle that allows illegal trading and indiscriminate waste disposal to return after enforcement operations. Traders occupy public spaces because people continue to patronise them. Buyers must understand that their actions sustain the problem and that they are also accountable under the law,” he said.
The LAWMA boss said the Authority was simultaneously strengthening waste collection in inner streets and communities surrounding previously cleared dumping hotspots, and pledged that identified service gaps would be addressed even as enforcement continued against deliberate dumping, redumping and patronage of illegal markets.
He urged residents and businesses to patronise recognised markets and use approved waste collection channels, stressing that personal convenience must not come at the expense of public health, environmental sanitation, road safety and the orderly use of the city’s shared spaces.
Gbadegesin reaffirmed LAWMA’s commitment to sustained enforcement, stakeholder engagement and improved waste collection services in the drive to eliminate open dumping and achieve a cleaner Lagos.
