14th December, 2010
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
