Yuletide: Lagos to arrest sellers, users of fireworks

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

LAGOS—As the Yuletide activities kicks off nationwide, Lagos State Government, through the state Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, has urged parents and guardians to warn their children and wards to desist from the use of fireworks, popularly called “banger,” even as it warned sellers against the sale of the items.

General Manager LASEMA, Mr. Michael Akindele who gave the warning yesterday, in his Alausa office, said that a special team consisting of the agency, the police and other security operatives have been mobilized to apprehend offenders within the ambit of the law for prosecution.

He warned dealers and end users of fireworks to steer clear of the state because of the potential hazard of the item to the people and the environment.

Akindele reiterated the earlier ban on the use of the device by Lagos State Police Commissioner in order to further ensure safety of lives and properties in the state.

He recalled the ordeal of December 26, 2012 Jankara fire outbreak caused by the storage of fireworks in some of the shops leading to loss of lives and properties worth millions of naira.

Akindele noted that the noise created by fireworks and the large amounts of debris and fallout left over after shooting may also cause health hazards and environmental nuisance which could degenerate to disaster under certain conditions and inimical to health of the communities and neighborhoods where the users live.

“The careless use of fireworks may be dangerous to the users as they stand the risks of sustaining burns and wounds as well as harming bystanders or cause fire outbreak when thrown on inflammable materials, in this period of fuel scarcity and potential storage of it in homes and other public places,” he said.