Lagos moves against waste violators, arrests offenders
Just 48 hours after residents and business owners near Jakande Estate Gate, Oke Afa, in the Isolo area of Lagos State, expressed their concerns regarding the piles of refuse cluttering the median of their estate road, the Lagos State Government has escalated its enforcement efforts against indiscriminate waste disposal across various locations in the state.
On Monday, August 25, community members voiced their distress over the foul odor and health hazards posed by refuse that frequently remained uncollected for extended periods. They further claimed that individuals from adjacent communities traveled to the area to dispose of waste, exacerbating the environmental threat.
In what seemed to be a direct reaction to the escalating worries regarding waste management in Lagos, the Lagos State Wastewater Management Office took action on Wednesday by sealing a residential property on Apongbon Street, Lagos Island, for intentionally discharging feces into public drainage systems.
The enforcement team reported that the property, known as Pa Kasumu Adepeju Olaniyonu House, located at 22 Apongbon Street, was closed “for causing public nuisance, environmental pollution, and endangering human life.”
Two days later, on August 29, officials from the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, during a coordinated operation, apprehended at least 40 individuals involved in illegal activities along Ozumba Mbadiwe Road and in parts of Lekki.
The suspects, whose ages ranged from 18 to 45, faced accusations of various offenses, including illegal waste dumping and street mischiefs that jeopardized the safety and cleanliness of the environment.
“All individuals arrested are currently undergoing processing and will be prosecuted according to the law,” stated Tokunbo Wahab, Commissioner of Health and Water Resources, through his social media account.
Additionally, the agency’s Waste Infractions Surveillance Investigation Team arrested eight individuals along the Lekki-Epe Expressway on Saturday for unlawfully disposing of refuse at unauthorized locations. Among those apprehended were 37-year-old Oluwamomi Mankinde and 39-year-old Martha Simon.
“Lagosians are enjoined to embrace proper waste and wastewater management and hygiene practices to enhance public health and environmental sustainability. We will not allow lawlessness to undermine environmental safety in the state,” Tokunbo Wahab added.
In the meantime, several residents of Isolo informed our correspondent on Sunday that they were hopeful the crackdown would reach their neighborhood.
A vulcaniser named Kazeen Balogun remarked: “We have been voicing our concerns for a long time. If LAWMA can apprehend individuals in Lekki, they should also extend their efforts here. The smell we endure daily poses a significant health risk.”
Another local, Olayemi Abiodun, shared this view, asserting that enhanced supervision at the Jakande Estate Gate would discourage outsiders from coming in to dispose of waste.
Currently, the residents of Lagos are awaiting to see if the renewed enforcement will extend to the overlooked communities that are already burdened by piles of refuse.
