The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) on Sunday arrested 27 traders for hawking outside the Wuse market premises in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Alhaji Isa Shuaibu, the Director of the Board, said during the operation, that hawking as well as trading outside market premises was illegal in the FCT.
Shuaibu noted that hawking was contributing to traffic congestion on major highways as well as generating piles of refuse within the nation's capital.
He said the board would continue to discourage hawking and expressed the hope that this would reduce indiscriminate dumping of refuse within Abuja.
The director assured that violators of environmental laws would face the wrath of the law, saying: ''It is no longer business as usual.''
He urged security agents working at strategic traffic points in the FCT not to allow illegal hawking activities.
“It is worrisome that hawking is generating high volume of waste and the practice is quite undermining our efforts in keeping the capital clean at all times.
“AEPB will not relent in its bid to flush out hawkers in the FCT and we will continue to strengthen our enforcement squad to achieve the enormous task of enforcing environmental laws in the FCT.’’
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that waste disposal trucks were seen evacuating refuse around the Wuse market premises to their designated dump sites.
NAN also reports that members of the enforcement squad were seen alongside a detachment of armed policemen effecting environmental laws and arresting defaulters.
Some of the items confiscated include cloths, bags of sachet water (pure water), cartons of bottle water and shoes, among others. (NAN)