The Lagos State Government will from next week begin arresting and prosecuting individuals who purchase goods from illegal roadside traders, shifting enforcement beyond vendors to consumers whose patronage sustains unauthorised markets.
The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) will lead the campaign. Its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, announced the measure at the authority's headquarters on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. He said the action is anchored on Section 151, Subsection 2 of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law 2017 and forms part of a renewed strategy to tackle illegal trading, indiscriminate waste disposal and obstruction of public infrastructure.
Gbadegesin explained that enforcement would no longer target illegal traders alone. Buyers who keep such activities viable by purchasing from traders operating on roadsides, medians, walkways, setbacks and other unauthorised spaces would also be held accountable. He noted that patronage encourages traders to return to these locations after enforcement operations.
"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," Gbadegesin said. A person convicted under the provision could be liable to a fine of N90,000, imprisonment for six months, or both.
The LAWMA chief said illegal roadside and median markets routinely generate waste that is dumped in drains, roads and other public spaces, blocking drainage channels, worsening traffic and posing public health risks. The authority is simultaneously strengthening waste collection in inner streets and communities around previously cleared dumping hotspots, while deliberate dumping, redumping and patronage of illegal markets will attract enforcement.
The state has maintained a sustained campaign against street trading. In February 2025, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said continued trading on walkways damaged public infrastructure and blocked drainage systems. In June 2025, a joint operation by LAGESC and LAWMA cleared illegal street traders from the median of Ojo-Alaba Road, and three individuals were arrested for obstructing enforcement.
LAWMA urged residents and businesses to patronise recognised markets and use approved waste collection channels, stating that personal convenience should not come at the expense of public health, environmental sanitation, road safety and orderly use of shared spaces.
