The Lagos State Taskforce has cleared all illegal shanties and makeshift structures along the Pen Cinema to Fagba railway corridor covering a distance of about 25 kilometers.
The pre-dawn sting operation which took the squatters by surprise was led by the Chairman of the Agency, CSP Adetayo Akerele.
Akerele disclosed that the action was necessary to provide residents around Fagba, Agege, and Pen Cinema railway routes a reprieve after a series of complaints were received by the State Government and the Police hierarchy concerning the activities of criminal elements terrorizing residing using the state’s Red Line metro train.
He said besides the threat to safety, the squatters have continued to show total disregard for the state’s environmental and sanitation laws.
The Chairman noted that the presence of squatters along the rail corridor is not only unhealthy but hazardous. He issued a warning to the ejected squatters not to return to the rail corridor, which was designed solely for the passage of trains.
Some of the recalcitrant squatters attempted to resist the Agency’s actions; however, 94 of them were arrested and will be charged to court.
Akerele assured residents in Fagba, Agege, Pen Cinema, its environs, and train passengers that adequate patrols and regular surveillance will be carried out along the corridor to ensure no squatters return to erect any shanty in the future.
He pledged to arrest and prosecutes any individual or group attempting to return to the site.
“The rail tracks are not meant for habitation or the sale of narcotics. Anyone caught converting this place into a den of criminals or an area of residence will face severe consequences according to the law.”
Substance suspected to be hard drugs like Indian hemp, Colorado, and other harmful and dangerous drugs and weapons were confiscated during the raid.
