Lagos task force to arrest traders on train tracks

Barely two days after a train crushed a trader to death in the Oshodi area of Lagos State, traders in the Agege train corridor have resumed trading activities on the train track.

PUNCH Metro reported on Sunday that tragedy struck when a train crushed a 50-year-old man identified simply as Emmanuel to death.

The incident was said to have happened near The Arena Shopping Mall in Oshodi.

The deceased’s sister, whose name is not known yet, had informed the police that she received a phone call around 9 am on the said date that her older brother had been fatally struck by the moving train.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Benjamin Hundeyin, had in a statement, confirmed that the Mosafejo Division of the command was notified of the incident around 1:33 pm. The police immediately dispatched a team of detectives to the scene.

Monitoring activities around the Agege corridor on Monday, our correspondent observed that some traders had resumed trading along the track.

Our correspondent observed that some clothing vendors and cobblers displayed their goods on the train track while some beggars were seen sitting on the train tracks.

This is just as little children suspected to be child beggars were also seen roaming on the train track.

When our correspondent approached some of the traders to ask if they were not aware of the risk of trading on the train tracks, they declined comments.

Meanwhile, a trader who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity noted that the worsening economic situations had forced the traders to choose the train tracks as an alternative.

The trader stressed that the high cost of renting a shop in the city centre also forced them to resort to trading on the train tracks.

The trader said, “We are not pleased to be trading on the train track because it is risky but what can we do when the economy is not favourable? I have a family to feed but the economy is not smiling. The cost of renting a shop in a place that can boost sales is high and not affordable. So, what can we do?”

Reacting to an enquiry by our correspondent, the spokesperson for the Lagos Taskforce, Abdulraheem Gbadeyan, disclosed that the agency had made frantic efforts to deter the traders but they had remained adamant.

He stressed that efforts would be intensified in arresting and punishing offenders that had remained adamant.

“Last week, we were at Mile 2 and we dislodged some of the traders who were trading on the track. The problem is that these traders have remained defiant despite repeated warnings and arrests.

“We will intensify our efforts in arresting the defiant ones who had refused to heed warnings. The train tracks are not places to ply your trade,” Gbadeyan said.