The Lagos State Informal Space Management Authority (LASISMA) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to traders, squatters and other illegal occupants around the newly constructed Ojo General Hospital to vacate the premises ahead of full enforcement.
The enforcement exercise, which began on Monday along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway near the LASU-Iba Road junction, involved sensitising occupants and serving contravention notices on structures and activities occupying setbacks and corridors reserved for the hospital and other government infrastructure.
Speaking to journalists after the exercise, LASISMA General Manager, Oludaisi Oso, said the move was aimed at reclaiming public spaces and restoring them to their intended purposes.
Oso said the authority identified an illegal waste dump, an unauthorised fruit market, public toilets, a wood market and structures occupied by squatters around the hospital.
According to him, such activities were incompatible with a health facility and could undermine the purpose for which the Ojo General Hospital was established.
“What we have here today will defeat the purpose of this institution, Ojo General Hospital. We have this kind of institution here and at the same time we have this kind of activity, illegal waste dump, unauthorised fruit market, public toilets, wood market and illegal squatters,” he said.
He warned that the encroachment could pose serious public health, security and emergency-access challenges, particularly when the hospital becomes fully operational.
Oso questioned how emergency patients, including pregnant women requiring urgent medical attention, would gain quick access to the hospital if the surrounding spaces remained congested and encroached upon.
He also raised concerns about the health implications of waste accumulating close to the hospital, warning that decomposing refuse could expose patients and residents to additional diseases.
The LASISMA boss said similar encroachments existed around government schools and other public institutions across Lagos, adding that the state government had directed the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and LASISMA to reclaim such spaces.
“We are starting with government institutions, and then from there we will now move to other places that have been illegally encroached upon. There is no way we can continue like this,” he said.
Oso stressed that the government was not against legitimate businesses but insisted that commercial activities must be carried out in designated locations.
“Government is not saying people should not get involved in doing their businesses. What we are saying is that they should go and do it in those places that have been created for the purpose. They should go to the markets,” he said.
He advised traders whose existing markets could not accommodate them to approach the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development through the appropriate channels for allocation of approved commercial spaces.
“Our setbacks today, we have declared war on them. No more illegal encroachment on all our setbacks,” Oso declared.
He explained that Monday’s exercise was focused on sensitisation and the issuance of contravention notices, while full enforcement would commence after the seven-day grace period.
“After seven days, we’ll come with enforcement,” he said.
Oso added that the entire perimeter of the hospital had been encroached upon and that contravention notices would be served across all affected areas.
He further disclosed that the government had developed plans to redevelop the spaces around the hospital with complementary uses that would enhance the newly constructed facility.
“Lagos is a place that welcomes everybody. Lagos is a place that is ready to receive everybody. But when you come into a place, you must do your things in accordance with the rules and regulations,” he said.