At least 2,000 commuter bus drivers and traders who have been constituting a  nuisance at Obalende under bridge, Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria have been  dislodged by the Lagos State Taskforce on the Environment and other Special Offences  Unit.

The traffic gridlock normally experienced at Obalende roundabout as a result of the  lawless activities of commuter bus drivers has gone as no vehicle is allowed to park  under the bridge or stop to pick passengers.

A new terminal has been built by the state government where commuter bus drivers  could now pick and drop passengers. The enforcement was to ensure that the commuter  bus drivers and others comply with government’s directive to use the new terminal.

The taskforce officials led by its Chairman, Bayo Sulaiman, stormed Obalende around  3a.m. today to begin the sanitization of Obalende. Those sleeping under the bridges  were driven away while commercial vehicles parked there were also evacuated by the  taskforce.

Several illegal structures were demolished by the taskforce just like it did in  Oshodi when thousands were displaced two years ago. During the raid, a stolen Honda  Concerto car with registration number Ondo AE 943 LEL, which was abandoned under the  bridge for over a month was recovered by the taskforce.

The owner of the stolen car was identified as Mr. Sola Babatunde, a staff of  Intercontinental Bank Plc.

According to Babatunde, the recovery of his car was divine, saying that the vehicle  was snatched from him by a three-man gang along Murtala Mohammed Airport Road at  gunpoint a month ago.

“I was just passing this morning and saw my car abandoned beside the road, under the  bridge. I could not believe it. If this area was not cleared, I wouldn’t have found  this car. I have since notified the leader of the task force team about the car,” he  said

According to him, he had earlier reported the case to policemen at the Sogunle  Police Station when the vehicle was stolen on 11 November, 2010 but that all efforts  by the police to find the car did not yield result.

“Until today when I saw that the government had cleared Obalende and decided to pass  through the area. For four years, I don’t pass through Obalende because it is too  rough but as fate will have it, I pass through the area today and found my stolen  car,” he stated.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga

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