Olusegun Adeyemo
The Lagos State Government has introduced strict penalties for environmental offenders, with fines of N250,000 or up to three months imprisonment for those caught dumping refuse illegally or littering public spaces.
This was disclosed by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, during a media briefing held on Tuesday.
He said that the state would no longer tolerate disregard for environmental laws, adding that repeat offenders would be subject to even harsher penalties.
“Serial offenders will face even stiffer punishments,” Wahab warned.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr Kunle Adeshina, Wahab’s message signals a renewed crackdown on environmental indiscipline across Lagos, with no tolerance for excuses from violators.
“We won’t drop the ball. We would continue to ramp up our enforcement and sensitisation,” Wahab declared.
The commissioner stressed that the state’s ban on cart pushers remains firmly in place, stating that they are major contributors to indiscriminate dumping of waste.
“Let me reiterate that the ban on cart pushers has not been lifted because they are the ones who dump waste indiscriminately across the state.
“Residents should desist from patronising them and always patronise registered PSP,” he stated.
He also addressed the growing concern about construction-related violations, particularly by developers who obstruct roads and drains with building materials. Such sites, Wahab emphasized, will be sealed and the owners prosecuted.
“Dumping building materials on drains or roads” is a serious offence, and the state intends to clamp down on it firmly, he said.
So far, over 3,000 offenders have been prosecuted by the state but Wahab made it clear that enforcement efforts are far from over.
“This is just the beginning,” he said.
Enforcement teams from the Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, the Kick Against Indiscipline, KAI, brigade, and other allied agencies are now operating continuously to ensure offenders are “arrested, prosecuted, named, and shamed.”
One specific area of concern is the misuse of pedestrian bridges, where illegal squatting, open defecation, and petty crime have deterred residents from using the structures safely.
“They dissuade pedestrians from using the bridges and in turn endanger lives,” Wahab said.