The Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, LASEMA, has given owners and occupants of makeshift and other shops under the Apongbon bridge 48 hours to vacate the location.
This was disclosed by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu on Wednesday. According to him, they risk sanctions if they fail to comply with the state government’s decision.
This is coming after a fire gutted some shops under Eko Bridge, Apongbon, Lagos on Wednesday, which badly affected the bridge leading to immediate closure for public use.
What LASEMA is saying about sanction
Osanyintolu explained that the notice had become necessary to restore normalcy to the environment as well as prevent a similar incident from occurring in future.
LASEMA boss, who lamented the clustering nature of shops and level of environmental degradation caused by the traders, vowed that enforcement team would arrest and prosecute owners and occupants who are found under the bridge after the expiration of the notice.
He said: “The Lagos State Government, is hereby issuing a 48 hours notice to owners and occupants of containerized shops or makeshift stalls under bridges across the state to remove and relocate to designated areas.
“Failure to heed to this notice will attract arrest and prosecution of defaulters, while enforcement team will demolish any structure found in sight under bridges.
“The bridge has also been shut pending when integrity and Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA, is conducted on the bridge to determine the level of public safety.”
What you should know
- Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, said the situation had been brought under control as at 1pm.
- According to her, the fire service received the distress call at 03:14 wee hours on Wednesday, to under the Eko Bridge at Apongbon, where various wares were met well alight by the first set of crew of the agency on arrival.
- She explained, “The intensity of the fire has badly affected the Eko bridge truncating movement along that corridor. The nature of the fire is disastrous as all emergency responders are on top of the situation. There has been no reported case of injury or death while fire fighting operations still ongoing.”