Lagos Bans Street Trading, Buyers & Sellers To Get 6 Months Jail Term

This is bad news for gala and lacasera
sellers and consumers… So if you are
caught buying bottled water, gala,
cake etc in traffic, you will get 6
months jail term. Oh no!!!! *sob*
The Lagos State Government on
Friday said that from July 1, 2016,
it would commence a total
enforcement against street trading
and street hawkers, saying that the
law banning their activities across
the metropolis would take its full
course. He also says buyers, sellers
liable to N90,000 fine, six months
jail term or both.
Speaking at a live interview session
on Television Continental, the State
Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode
said that the renewed enforcement
is in line with Section One of the
Lagos State Street Trading and
Illegal Market Prohibition Law 2003
which restricts street trading and
hawking in the metropolis.
The Governor, while sympathizing
with the family of a street hawker
who was knocked down by an
articulated truck while trying to
evade arrest from officials of Kick
Against Indiscipline (KAI) along
Maryland Bus stop on Wednesday,
regretted that the situation led to
the destruction of public assets.
“It is not in our DNA to allow
someone to just die by road
accident or the way it happened in
respect of the incident. But beyond
the fact that we lost one person
while crossing the road as a result
of evading arrest by KAI officials, I
need to tell Lagosians that over 49
buses were actually destroyed and
it is costing us like almost N139
million to put those buses back on
the road,” he said.
Consequently, Governor Ambode
said the State Executive Council has
resolved to enforce the Law, which
according to him makes both the
hawker and the buyer liable of the
offence.
“The issue is we need to enforce
our laws because we already have a
law in respect of that and then
there is a clause in it which says
the buyer and the seller are both
liable and that we are going to fine
them either N90, 000 or a six
month jail term.
“What we are doing on traffic is
that we are introducing new
strategies to eliminate traffic but
Lagos being a cosmopolitan city,
you cannot totally eliminate it but
now this is the case, in the next few
days, you will see on the street of
Lagos signs that will be warning
you that buyers and hawkers
should be aware that there are
consequences,” Governor Ambode
said.