210 hoodlums arrested, 125 Okada impounded in Lagos

Kazeem Ugbodaga

Operatives of the Lagos State Task Force at the weekend arrested 210 hoodlums and impounded 125 motorcycles around Iludun Town, New Oko-Oba area of Agege, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

The enforcement operation which was carried out based on complaints by different communities around the area also demolished 98 illegal shanties built on drainage alignment and road set-backs.

Chairman of the agency, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, who led the enforcement team disclosed that the 210 arrested hoodlums were those recently dislodged by the agency along railway behind Abattoir at Agege.

Egbeyemi disclosed further that the hoodlums terrorised these communities both day and night by robbing them of their valuables such as phones, wallets and jewelries.

“It was an eyesore as these dislodged miscreants and street urchins were freely smoking and selling Indian hemp around residential premises where you have underage school girls and boys,” he said.

The Chairman stressed that 98 demolished illegal shanties and containarised shops within abattoir and adjourning streets aside being on the landscape and harbouring criminals, were contributing to the under-growth of health, environment and safety issues in and around Agege area.

He confirmed that over 125 motorcycles plying restricted routes around the communities were impounded by the agency during the enforcement operations.

The Chairman also confirmed that 210 arrested miscreants and street urchins were immediately charged to court on the directive of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi.

Imohimi directed further that Egbeyemi must continue to monitor the communities against any likely re-union of other notorious miscreants and street urchins who escaped during the enforcement operations.

Egbeyemi, who implored community leaders to be watchful of their immediate environment hinted that areas where the dislodged miscreants and street urchins carried out their nefarious activities and erected illegal shanties included Pipeline-way, Agric Road, Olaofe Road and Mofoladayo Drives.