Lagos gives illegal occupants of public spaces 7 days to exit
Lagos State Government has issued a seven-day exit notice to traders illegally occupying public spaces around the newly constructed Ojo General Hospital.
The Lagos State Informal Space Management Authority (LASISMA) commenced the enforcement exercise on Monday along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway by the LASU-Iba Road with sensitisation of the occupants and issuance of contravention notices in preparation for the next phase of enforcement.
The government urged the affected occupants to vacate the area before full enforcement begins.
The exercise targeted traders, squatters and other occupants of structures and spaces within setbacks and corridors reserved for the hospital and other critical government infrastructure.
Speaking with journalists after the exercise, LASISMA General Manager, Oludaisi Oso, said the action was necessary to reclaim government setbacks and ensure that spaces reserved for public institutions were used for their intended purposes.
Oso said officials discovered an illegal waste dump, an unauthorised fruit market, public toilets, a wood market and structures occupied by squatters around the hospital.
He warned that such activities were incompatible with the operations of 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.
According to him, the encroachment could create serious public health, security and emergency-access challenges, particularly when the hospital becomes fully operational.
He questioned how emergency patients, including pregnant women, would gain quick access to the facility if the surrounding areas remained congested by illegal activities.
“If a pregnant woman needs to be attended to and has just five minutes to get to the theatre on emergency, how will she be able to get into this place with all this encroachment?” Oso asked.
The LASISMA boss also expressed concern over the accumulation of refuse around the hospital, warning that decomposing waste near a healthcare facility could create additional health risks.
“Should somebody come in here to be treated for malaria and at the end of the day take away cholera, even from the same health institution? It is not going to work,” he said.
Oso disclosed that the problem of illegal occupation of public spaces extended beyond the Ojo General Hospital, noting that similar encroachments existed around government schools and other public institutions across Lagos.
He said the state government had directed the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and LASISMA to reclaim such spaces and restore them to their designated uses.
“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 were inadequate to approach the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development through the appropriate channels for allocation of spaces designated for commercial activities.
According to him, road setbacks and spaces reserved for public institutions could not be converted into informal markets or business premises.
Declaring the state government’s resolve to reclaim public spaces, Oso said, “Our setbacks today, we have declared war on them. No more illegal encroachment on all our setbacks.”
He explained that Monday’s operation was primarily a sensitisation exercise and the service of contravention notices, adding that enforcement officers would return after the seven-day grace period.
“After seven days, we’ll come with enforcement,” he warned.
Oso added that the entire perimeter of the hospital had been affected by encroachment and that contravention notices would be served across the affected areas.
He further disclosed that the government had developed plans for the eventual redevelopment of the spaces around the hospital, with complementary facilities intended to enhance the newly constructed health institution. Government
“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,” Oso said.
