By: Tijani Salako.
The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has arrested 14 persons for alleged waste-related offences on Lagos Island and seized scores of carts used by suspected illegal waste collectors along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway as it intensified enforcement operations across the state.
This was disclosed in a statement shared with journalists on Saturday by LAWMA’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Mukaila Sanusi.
According to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, the operations reflect the Authority’s renewed commitment to strengthening compliance with waste management regulations and curbing illegal waste disposal and unauthorised waste collection in Lagos.
Gbadegesin said the Lagos Island enforcement exercise covered Idumota, Oke-Popo, Tom Jones and Tinubu, where the 14 suspects were arrested for various environmental offences, including the illegal disposal of waste into the lagoon.
The suspects were identified as Buhari Danbaba, Ayo Akindele, Shamsudeen Lawal, Ibrahim Isiaka, Azeez Alatilehin, Quadri Adisa, Ogunbado Sobur, Salimonu Oluwadamilare, Odunayo Arinola, Azeez Roqeeb, Sherifdeen Mudashiru, Nurudeen Saliu, Zazilo Bello and Augustine Eje.
The LAWMA boss added that the Authority also carried out an enforcement operation from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, where operatives confiscated scores of carts allegedly used for unauthorised waste collection.
He noted that unregulated waste collection and transportation undermine the state’s organised waste management system, especially when collected waste is dumped at unauthorised locations.
Gbadegesin warned that indiscriminate disposal of waste, particularly into waterways, threatens Lagos’ environmental sustainability and flood control efforts.
“The Lagos State Government, through LAWMA, will not relent in enforcing environmental regulations across the state. These enforcement operations are part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that residents, businesses and waste handlers take responsibility for the proper management and disposal of waste,” he said.
He urged residents, traders and businesses to desist from indiscriminate waste disposal and patronise only accredited waste collection operators, stressing that waste should be handed over through approved channels.
Gbadegesin further warned that anyone found dumping waste on roads, drains, waterways or other unauthorised locations, as well as those engaged in illegal waste collection, would face enforcement actions in line with existing environmental laws.
He also appealed to residents to support LAWMA’s waste management efforts by maintaining proper waste disposal practices and reporting incidents of illegal dumping and unauthorised waste collection through the Authority’s designated reporting channels.
