The Lagos state government has demolished more than 200 illegal shanties, and evacuated derelict vehicles that sprawled around Apapa Road, Ijora, and Costain under bridges.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr. Sola Giwa, confirmed this in a statement to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

Giwa also disclosed that during the operation, personnel of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) made a shocking discovery.

“A dummy firearm and other dangerous weapons clandestinely concealed within makeshift structures beneath the bridges.

“This is a manifestation of the state’s relentless commitment to urban regeneration, environmental rectitude, and safeguarding of public order,” he said.

He said the large-scale clearance operation was meticulously coordinated through a synergy of inter-governmental agencies.

According to him, the exercise strategically targets the reclamation and sanitisation of critical public spaces, saying, “These spaces have been desecrated by unlawful habitation, environmental degradation, and nefarious criminal activities.”

He decried the appalling condition of the affected areas, stressing that the unlawful activities and shanty settlements constituted monumental affront to public decency, environmental order, and the collective security of Lagosians.

“No responsive and responsible government will countenance such brazen lawlessness within vital infrastructural zones that sustain the state’s socio-economic engine,” he said.

He warned that any attempt by displaced miscreants or illegal occupants to return to the cleared sites would be met with swift and decisive sanctions.

He also reaffirmed that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration remained irrevocably committed to actualising a safer, cleaner, and more habitable Lagos .