The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service sealed the Shoprite outlet at Ikeja City Mall, citing alleged tax non-compliance under applicable laws. Officials warned against tampering with the agency’s enforcement seals.
The action underscores Lagos’ intensified revenue enforcement posture amid broader cost pressures in Nigeria’s retail sector.
2025-12-10
The Nation
2025-12-10
LASG has inaugurated the newly reconstituted Boards of Sports Associations in a brief ceremony on Wednesday, at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Indoor Sports Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Honourable Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mr. Segun Dawodu urged the newly reconstituted Boards to elevate the status of sports in Lagos State by taking it to the next level.
He also revealed that three new Associations were added to the existing 40 Sports Associations in the State, bringing the total number to 43 with 277 individuals, as part of the Government’s plans to reposition Lagos as the hub of Sports in Nigeria.
According to him, the new Sports Associations are Monopoly, (joined with Scrabble to form the Lagos State Scrabble and Monopoly Association), Lagos State Netball Association, Lagos State E-Sports Association and the Cheerleading Association.
Dawodu implored members of the Sports Association Boards to work assiduously and collectively in order to come up with series of sustainable programmes.
The Executive Chairman, Lagos State Sports Commission, Mr. Sola Aiyepeku, disclosed that the new Board members were painstakingly selected to refocus and change the face of Sports in Lagos State.
He stated that perception about Government being the sole financier of sporting events had to change, urging the new Sports Associations to work independently to source private sector financing and sponsorships for organising at least two sporting events per quarter.
The Director-General, Lagos State Sports Commission, Mr. Oluwatoyin Gafaar, charged the newly inaugurated Board members to develop, drive and sustain sports in Lagos State.
He gave an assurance that the Lagos State Sports Commission would give all the necessary support to make sports development at the grassroots in Lagos State a success, expressing optimism for tremendous improvement from all Associations.
Responding, Mrs. Abimbola Lawal, Chairperson, Lagos State Traditional Sports Association, also a member of the Board of Sports Commission, assured that all members would do their best to achieve the mandate given by the State Sports Commission.
The Chairmen of Sports Associations such as Athletics, Handball, Basketball, Taekwondo, Hockey, Gymnastics, Golf, Deaf Sports and Cricket retained their positions, while the Lagos State Football Association will adhere to FIFA Election Statutes to decide fresh members.
Petrol stations in Lagos State are now under surveillance to ensure compliance with the approved pump price band for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says on Monday.
This is coming after News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the Federal Government had on March 12 denied the increment of petrol to N212 per litre and had directed marketers to revert to the old price regime.
During an inspection exercise in some petrol stations located in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki areas of the lagos State, DPR’s Zonal Operations Controller, Ayorinde Cardoso said seven petrol stations inspected are complying to selling fuel to customers between N162 to N165 per litre which was the approved price band.
“This surveillance visit is part of our regular function and we are coming out today to check product availability and product quality because we heard some information about water ingress in some of the tanks.
“We going out to check that. Also, we are looking at consumer protection so that they are not short-changed by under- dispensing.
“We have gone round to about seven stations and they are all selling within the approved pump price band,” he said.
Cardoso said the DPR sealed three fuel pumps that were under dispensing in one of the petrol stations, pending when they were rectified and re-evaluated by the regulatory agency.
According to him, though the agency has not discovered any incident of hoarding of petroleum products in the zone, its officials will continue to intensify surveillance on petrol stations.
He said: “I want to assure the public that the sufficiency level in Lagos State is okay and for now we have not seen any hoarding of products.
” Surveillance is a regular assignment for us and our officials are going around every day for that purpose.”
The inferno that gutted the Oando tank farm in Lagos, South-West, Nigeria has now been put out by firefighters.
This was confirmed on Saturday in a separate statement by the Federal Fire Service and Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA).
After several hours, efforts of the firefighters finally brought the fire under control.
The inferno from the 7.6Million litres PMS tank which started on Thursday, 5th November, 2020 at about 12:20hrs was finally put under control at 09:00hrs today, Saturday 7th, November 2020, an official statement by the Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA) stated on Twitter.
Escalation to other tank farm was successfully averted by the combined efforts of the fire unit of LASEMA’s response team, Lagos State Fire Service, Federal Fire Service and other private fire units.
The firefighters were said to have remained on ground trying to ensure that there is no reignition.
The statement confirmed that the affected area has now been cordoned off.
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Muhammed Adamu, Tuesday visited Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the State House in Marina where he declared that the #EndSARSProtestsTurnedBloody won’t discourage the men and women of the Nigeria Police Force from performing their constitutional duties.
Briefing journalists on his mission in Lagos, IGP said he was in the state for an assessment of the police assets vandalised after the protest and to commiserate with residents.
Adamu consoled the governor and people of Lagos over the coordinated arson, which left strategic assets of the state in ruins. He said the police had widened its intelligence to trace and arrest those that carried out the act.
According to him, “Lagos was the epicentre where the #EndSARS protest took place and the number of destruction in the subsequent violence was more in Lagos than any other part. I came to commiserate with the governor and people of the state. The destruction they suffered was uncalled for.
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Counting the Cost: Odumosu Inspects Burnt Police Formations in Lagos
“The second leg of my visit is to see the police stations destroyed and boost the morale of our men in Lagos. We don’t want them to be demoralised by the event in which they suffered personal attacks. Policemen are trained to take such pain. Now that the event has happened, it shouldn’t discourage us from performing our constitutional duties.”
The police chief said he observed that the morale of some officers had dampened in the light of the violence, he noted that his visit would encourage them to give their all in protecting the lives and properties of the citizens.
Adamu said the scale of the destruction witnessed in Lagos and around the country called for the need by Nigerians to adopt standard protocols for public protests whenever they wanted to express their grievances against the system.
“It is very important to set up protocols that will prevent hoodlums to hijack peaceful protest organised with good intentions. The moment the protest organisers don’t have leadership, the purpose and intent of the effort would be defeated. As we have seen in the case of #EndSARS protest, no economy will be able to bear the loss that we have seen in Lagos,” IGP said.
Adamu visited some of the assets torched in Lagos, including the vandalised palace of Oba of Lagos,
Lagos State was the epicentre of the #EndSARS protest, which later snowballed to coordinated violence that led to a large-scale destruction of assets belonging to the state, Federal Government, police and private individuals.
Six police officers were lynched in Lagos, 36 critically injured, while 46 police stations were torched.
Responding, Sanwo-Olu commiserated with Adamu over the mob attacks on police personnel and torching of their stations.
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Despite the violence visited on the police formations by hoodlums who hijacked the protest, the governor commended the officers in Lagos State Police Command for exercising restraint in the face of the attacks.
Sanwo-Olu intimated IGP on the move by Lagos State Government to rebuild the razed police stations and offer scholarship awards to the children of the officers killed in the violence.
The governor assured Adamu that all the requests sent to Lagos State Government by the police would be fulfilled, while pledging that the state would be championing a cause to improve citizen-police relationship in order to prevent re-occurrence of the issues that led to the #EndSARS protest.
Those who accompanied IGP include: Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in charge of Research and Planning, Leye Oyebade; his counterpart in Force Intelligence, Ibrahim Lamorde; Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in charge of Force Operations, Hosea Karma; AIG Zone 2, Ahmed Ilyasu; and Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu; among others.
IdowuSowunmi
The Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led Lagos State Government has with immediate effect lifted the #EndSARS-imposed curfew, which was introduced after the peaceful protest was hijacked.
This was coming as the governor has also approved November 2 as the resumption date for all public servants on Grade Levels 1 to 12.
While lifting the #EndSARS-imposed curfew, the Sanwo-Olu administration explained that the 12am-4am curfew imposed by the Federal Government to curb the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) would subsist.
Encouraging Lagosians to feel free by going about their businesses without any hindrance whatsoever, the governor assured that security agencies would continue to discharge their duties.
He urged Lagosians to cooperate with law enforcement personnel to maintain the status of Lagos State as one of the most peaceful states in the country.
Sanwo-Olu appreciated “security agencies for their efforts in restoring peace to our troubled communities” and commended Lagosians for observing the curfew and ensuring the return of normalcy.
The governor urged the citizenry not to do or encourage any action that may turn back the clock, but “to keep living in harmony as we get set to rebuild our dear state and strengthen the unity that we are known for.”
Meanwhile, Sanwo-Olu has directed that all public servants on GL 1-12 should resume duty from Monday (November 2).
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The governor, in a statement by Lagos State Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, observed that the directive is in accordance with the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and advisory of the state Ministry of Health.
Muri-Okunola urged all accounting officers to ensure strict adherence to all safety protocols guiding against the spread of the virus in their respective MDAs, just as he directed that attendance duty rosters must be maintained in all state government establishments.
Idowu Sowunmi
The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has approved the full resumption of operations of both food markets and non food markets. They are now to open daily.
In a statement announcing this, the Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Dr Wale Ahmed, said Mr Governor took the decision to further enhance trade and commerce as well as mitigate the hardship of recent times and ensure that Lagosians can recover fast.
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Dr Ahmed pointed out that Mr Governor also advised the continued observance of all safety protocols.
He noted that traders and their customers must adhere strictly to the covid 19 protocols for their safety and the citizenry at large.
To further demonstrate his heart-led leadership qualities, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, visited the widow of the driver hit by stray bullet during the last Monday demonstration by youths in Surulere for the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The protest ended bloody when the police attempted to disperse some of the protesters who were moving towards Anti-Cultism Police Command in the area. In the ensuing chaos, Okechukwu Iloamuazor, 55, was hit by bullet and died on the spot.
The governor arrived at the deceased’s house at 2pm and was received by family members led by their head, Bede Enewally. The family house was enveloped in gloom as the Number One Lagos State citizen visited the grief-stricken widow, Ngozi Iloamuazor.
Sanwo-Olu commiserated with the family over the incident, which he described as unfortunate. He said late Iloamuazor should not have died under the circumstance, but assured the family members that the perpetrators would be brought to book.
Already, all the four policemen who opened fire on the protesters in Surulere had been identified by the government and the police authorities. They are currently undergoing orderly room trial at Lagos State Police Command.
But, Sanwo-Olu assured that his administration would take the officers’ punishment beyond the established disciplinary guidelines of the police.
According to him, “On behalf of Lagos State Government, and the people of Lagos, I commiserate with the family over this mindless brutality that led to the death of your son. We condemn endless killing of innocent citizens to the highest level. It is highly disheartening to learn that the victim, Mr. Iloamuazor, was performing his legitimate duty when the unfortunate incident happened. He hurt no one to have subjected to such pain death.
“The officers involved are undergoing orderly room trial as we speak, but we will allow the police complete their investigation. We will certainly take the case out of the police and bring the full wrath of the law on the officers who perpetrated this irresponsible act. This will be clear signal for other trigger-happy officers.
“Mr. Iloamuazor’s death is a sad loss not only for the family but to the entire citizenry that has clamoured for an end to police brutality. I assure you that his death won’t be in vain and the case will not be swept under the carpet. This is going to be the beginning of real change that people want to see in law enforcement.”
Sanwo-Olu reiterated that his administration remained on the side of those calling for change in policing method. He said all those maimed or killed in Lagos in the course of the demonstration would be duly compensated, adding that his administration would honour their sacrifices by pushing for reforms that would bring about a policing system that would uphold rights of the citizens.
He said: “As a government, we have stood on the side of the protesters and we totally believe their agitation is legitimate. We need total reform in the policing system and it is a clarion call on all of us, who are exercising powers on behalf of the citizens.”
A policeman, Inspector Ayodeji Erinfolami, also died in the incident.
Late Iloamuazor’s boss, Sam Okafor, who witnessed how the driver got hit by stray bullet, relived the incident.
Okafor cleared the air that the deceased was not partaking in the protest, pointing out they were both heading to Ilupeju when they ran into the protesters in Surulere.
“We were stuck in the traffic caused by the protesters who were shouting #EndSARS. For more than 40 minutes, there was no movement. I wound down the windshield for fresh air, while Iloamuazor got down from the car to stretch his body. After stretching, he put his both hands into his pockets and trying to figure out where the traffic started.
“Suddenly we heard gunshot three times. The next thing I saw was Iloamuazor falling from his position. His hands remained in his pockets as he fell. I ran out of the car and screamed for help. People came and started performing all sort of things to save him. The police came to the scene and I told them my driver had been shot on the spot,” he said.
Okafor urged the governor to ensure justice was served in the matter, noting that he was yet to be relieved of the shock.
Enewally said Iloamuazor’s death threw the family into a state of perpetual sorrow, noting that the deceased carried several responsibilities in the family. He said the family put its trust in the governor to ensure justice was served at the end of the day.
The Federal Government has announced that the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos will be totally shutdown for two days beginning from midnight on Friday to midnight on Sunday in order to carry out special repair works on the 11.8km platform.
The shutdown of the very busy bridge was made known by the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Olukayode Popoola, who in a statement said that the construction had reached a stage where there should not be any form of movement or vibration on the bridge for concrete casting, hence the closure.
“The first total closure of the section of the bridge between Adekunle and Adeniji Adele will be from midnight of Friday, 9th October 2020 to midnight of Sunday, 11th October 2020 to allow the contractor complete the first stage of casting works.
“The contractor, Messrs Borini Prono & Co. (Nig.) Ltd, is nearing completion of works on the closed section of Third Mainland Bridge and requires the total closure of both bounds of the bridge between Adeniji Adele and Adekunle (i.e. in addition to the closed bound of the bridge, the other bound from Adekunle to Adeniji Adele will also be closed) to complete work.
“The total closure of this section of the bridge is to ensure that there is no vibration on the bridge during the casting in-place of the newly installed expansion joints. This is to allow for the setting of the special concrete, which allows the concrete to achieve its required compressive strength.
“Due to the number of expansion joints to be cast on the closed section of the bridge and the traffic situation in Lagos State, especially during the weekdays; the casting of the expansion joints will be in two stages to ensure that the total closure is only at the weekends when there is less traffic plying the route”, Popoola said.
As part of plan to ensure that there is a free flow of traffic on alternative routes, the controller said that adequate traffic management officials would be deployed to man the roads.
Expressing regret at regret at any inconvenience the closure might cause, Popoola added that the second total closure of the section of the bridge between Adekunle and Adeniji Adele would be communicated at a later date.
“The section of the bridge between Adekunle and Iyana – Oworo will still remain open, and traffic can move from Ebute-Metta/ Adekunle to Iyana – Oworo and vice – versa,” he said.
The Federal Ministry of Works had on July 14 effected a partial shutdown of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos for series of repairs. The repair is expected to last for six months with the construction divided into two phases of three months on each carriageway, starting with the Oworonsoki bound carriageway.
The Guardian reported that traffic was partially diverted on a stretch of 3.5km where construction is ongoing between Adeniji Adeniji Ramp and Ebute Meta, while different time belts were allotted for traffic diversions on the bridge.
The Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led Lagos State Government Thursday disowned the viral video, where some uniformed impostors were promoting the sale of branded waste baskets purportedly on behalf of the state.
The government, in a statement by Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, noted that all the characters in the viral video are fraudsters who do not represent the Sanwo-Olu administration or any of its agencies.
Bello declared that there’s no unit or agency under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources that goes by the name: ‘Lagos State Vehicle Waste Basket (LAVWAB) Enforcement/Compliance’ as portrayed in the branded vehicle which the fraudsters operated from.
He pointed out that the dubious intent of the criminals in the video could be deduced from the fact that they operated from inside a van within an automobile workshop and were very dodgy about the kind of enforcement exercise they were supposedly carrying out.
While noting that the state government has always encouraged all buses, trucks and articulated vehicles to provide waste baskets in their vehicles to discourage littering of the roads and streets, Bello maintained that the Sanwo-Olu administration has never recommended any branded waste basket to Lagosians.
The commissioner said the development has been communicated to security agents to spread their dragnets towards apprehending the criminals and their cohorts, wherever they operated from, and bring them to book.
Bello, therefore, enjoined members of the public to report any incident of anyone claiming to represent the state government and coercing them to purchase any particular brand of waste baskets for placement in their vehicles.
The commissioner also implored owners and operators of buses, trucks and articulated vehicles in the state to continue to use waste baskets of their choice in their vehicles, as part of efforts to discourage littering and promoting a culture of proper waste disposal.
Idowu Sowunmi