Environment and Special Offences
Enforcement Unit have confiscated
dozens of rams on display for sale in a
prohibited area of the state.
The task force from the governor's office
had
chased the ram sellers who converged
at Ijora- Olopa area and carted their
rams to an unknown detention centre.
The owners of the rams claimed they
were
unaware that their sales point was
prohibited and also claimed they were
not forewarned.
The ram sellers, with seven days left to
the Eid-el- Kabir festival, have appealed
to Gov.
Babatunde Fashola to release the rams.
They made the appeal on Monday in an
interview with the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Mr Muhammed Mudi, leader of the ram
sellers, expressed shock over the
development, saying that the situation
was embarrassing.
Mudi said that they were not expecting
the officials since they had had
approached an official of the Ministry of
Agriculture who gave them permission
to sell rams at the location.
"An official from Agriculture Ministry
gave us
permission to use this place, but I was
surprised when I heard that he had been
arrested.
"These ram sellers came from Sokoto
State and they are not aware of the
relocation order.
"That is why we are appealing to the
governor to allow us to make our sales
here this year; we promise not to bring
our rams here next year, " he said.
Mudi said that the task force came to
the market and carted away their rams
in trucks.
Sulaiman Saliu, one of the ram sellers,
said that bringing the rams to Lagos
was expensive and urged the
government to allow them to sell their
rams.
"We spent a lot of money to buy these
rams and use N3, 000 each to transport
them to Lagos without the other various
charges from different local
governments.
"We plead with the government to
tolerate us this year, " Saliu said.
He said that the dislocation would have
effect on the price of the rams.
"If we are sent away from this point, it
will result in additional charges on the
ram because we will still pay for
transporting them to a new place.
In fact, it is going to be a great loss on
our own part and that is why we are
appealing to the government not to take
our rams away from here, " he said.
Reacting, Mr Olaide Agboola, Chief
Superintendent of Police (CSP), who led
the team, said that the State Ministry of
Agriculture had designated some
locations for sale of rams in the state.
Agboola said that he had sent some
officers to Ijora on Sunday who gave the
ram sellers 24-hour deadline to vacate
the place.
"We have told them that Lagos State
Government will not tolerate littering
the state with wastes; they should go
and sell their rams in designated areas.
"I will make sure that not a single ram
remains in this place today. This will
serve as a lesson to other traders, " he
said.
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