Lagos warns against truck pushers, imprisons man for stealing iron

Magistrate T. O. Fashina of the Lagos State Mobile Court, Bolade, Oshodi, has sentenced one Abubakar Sanni to three months’ imprisonment for vandalism and theft of iron rods on Karim Kotun Street, in the Victoria Island area of the state.

The Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, in a statement on Monday, said the Managing Director, Lagos Waste Management Authority, Mr Ibrahim Odumboni, stated that the convict committed the crime under the guise of being a cart pusher.

“The authority wants to make it clear that cart pushing remains outlawed in the state. The menace of cart pushers has led to a rise in indiscriminate waste disposal, coupled with the fact that criminal elements now hide under it to perpetrate their crimes,” the LAWMA MD said in the statement.

According to him, since the present administration assumed office, LAWMA has taken steps toward addressing waste management challenges in the state.

He said, “One of such was absorbing many of the outlawed cart pushers into the business of recycling to preserve their livelihoods. However, this magnanimous gesture of government shouldn’t be taken for granted.

“Our enforcement team has been repositioned to monitor the environment across the metropolis and ensure that environmental defaulters are arrested and prosecuted. Currently, some offenders have been arrested and prosecuted for various infractions. This will serve as a deterrent to those bent on eroding the recent gains made in the environment.”