Lagos Seals Ladipo Spare Parts Market in Renewed Crackdown on Environmental Violations

ByEditor

Feb 8, 2026 #Apapa–Oshodi Expressway, #environmental infractions, #Ladipo Spare Parts Market, #Lagos State, #street trading, #Tokunbo Wahab, #waste disposal, #zero tolerance

Femi Ashekun/

Lagos State Government has sealed off the Ladipo Spare Parts Market along the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road on the busy Apapa–Oshodi Expressway following repeated breaches of environmental and public safety regulations, authorities confirmed on Sunday.

The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, announced the action in a post on X, stating that the market was shut “this morning” because of “repeated environmental infractions, including indiscriminate refuse disposal on the median/highway and illegal street trading.”

Officials from the Lagos taskforce carried out the enforcement exercise as part of the state’s broader effort to uphold environmental laws, discourage unsafe trading practices on road corridors, and enhance sanitation across key commercial hubs.

The Ladipo Spare Parts Market, one of West Africa’s largest auto parts hubs located in Mushin, has been targeted before for similar breaches.

The state government briefly closed the market in 2023 over sanitation and waste-management issues.

Under the administration’s “zero tolerance” stance on environmental abuse, authorities have repeatedly warned that markets must strictly comply with regulations governing waste disposal, street trading and sanitary conditions to avoid sanctions.

No official timeline has yet been provided for reopening the market.

State officials have said the facility will only be allowed to resume business once it fully adheres to the environmental and public-health standards set by relevant agencies.

Lagos State has increasingly enforced environmental laws in recent years, with the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources closing other markets that failed to meet sanitation regulations.

In September 2023, the government implemented a total ban on street trading and hawking to improve environmental standards and public safety in urban areas.