The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has raised alarm over what it described as an unjust pattern of targeting poor street hawkers under the guise of environmental enforcement in Lagos State.
In a press statement signed by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, RULAAC decried an incident that occurred Friday morning around Egbeda bus stop, where operatives of the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Waste Management Agency were seen arresting a young boy hawking puff-puff.
According to Nwanguma, the child was forcefully dragged into a caged truck, where several other hawkers—mostly poor people struggling to make ends meet—were already being held.
“Law enforcement should not criminalize survival. Instead of addressing the poverty that drives children into hawking, the state is punishing them,” the statement read.
Nwanguma argued that true governance requires tackling the root causes of street hawking, including poverty, unemployment, and lack of social protection. He faulted what he described as selective oppression, where laws are enforced disproportionately against the poor while the wealthy often evade accountability for more severe violations.
“This is not just an environmental issue but a human rights concern. Oppression in Nigeria wears a class face, falling hardest on those who can least resist,” he said.
RULAAC called on the Lagos State Government to rethink its approach to environmental enforcement and prioritize policies that provide education, skills, and job opportunities for vulnerable groups.
“If Lagos truly seeks a clean and orderly environment, it must address poverty and inequality—not cage hungry children struggling to support their families,” Nwanguma added.
