The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has arrested six suspected members of a notorious “one-chance” syndicate operating beneath the Ijora Bridge corridor, following a coordinated security operation that exposed a web of criminal activities in the area.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr. Sola Giwa, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday in Lagos.
According to Giwa, the operation, which took place on Thursday, October 23, was part of a joint inter-agency enforcement exercise aimed at dismantling illegal garages, removing unauthorised shanties, and eradicating criminal hideouts around Apapa Road, Costain, and the Ijora under-bridge.
He said the raid led to the recovery of several stolen and illegal items, including 77 assorted mobile phones, two Point-of-Sale (PoS) machines, multiple wristwatches, and other valuables believed to have been forcefully taken from unsuspecting commuters and pedestrians.
Giwa, who personally led the operation, said the enforcement team included personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, Mobile Police (MOPOL), Lagos State Task Force, Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), and the Nigerian Army.
Preliminary investigations, he noted, revealed that the Ijora under-bridge axis had long served as a criminal enclave, harbouring miscreants, illegal traders, and “one-chance” syndicates notorious for robbery, assault, and theft.
“The area had also become a storage hub for stolen valuables and contraband,” Giwa said. “During the operation, we discovered and seized several kegs of adulterated diesel and more than 150 packs of expired plantain chips and Cheese Balls, which were being hoarded under unhygienic conditions, posing serious health and environmental risks.”
The task force also demolished over 120 illegal shanties, including makeshift structures erected along the perimeter fence of St. Peter’s Catholic Nursery and Primary School, Apapa Road, in a move Giwa said was aimed at reclaiming the area’s urban integrity and restoring public safety.
Reaffirming the Sanwo-Olu administration’s zero-tolerance policy for illegal occupation, environmental infractions, and criminal activity, Giwa said the clean-up and arrests form part of the government’s broader strategy to create a safer, cleaner, and more orderly Lagos.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, commended the synergy among participating agencies, describing the operation as “a model of inter-agency cooperation at its finest.”
Bakare-Oki emphasised that LASTMA’s duties go beyond traffic control to include public safety, environmental protection, and the safeguarding of transport corridors from criminal infiltration.
He urged residents to stay alert, report suspicious activities, and support the government’s ongoing efforts to secure and sanitise public spaces.
The arrested suspects, he added, have been handed over to law enforcement authorities for further investigation and prosecution.