Lagos arrests three for illegal waste dumping

The Lagos State Government has arrested three individuals for illegally disposing of refuse along the median of the Ikotun–Igando Road, as part of its ongoing enforcement of environmental sanitation laws.

The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed the arrests in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday.

Mr Wahab said the suspects were apprehended during early-morning enforcement operations carried out on Monday by the Lagos Waste Management Authority’s Waste Infractions Surveillance and Investigation Team, which targeted waste blackspots along the Ikotun–Igando corridor.

“As a result of these operations, three individuals were apprehended for disposing of refuse illegally at the road median along Ikotun–Igando Road,” the commissioner said.

He added that the suspects had been handed over to the Lagos Waste Management Authority’s legal team at the Oshodi Mobile Court for further legal proceedings.

The arrested persons were identified as Muosolu Ogochukwu, 35, a woman; Adedigba Kazeem, 35, a man; and Isaac Monday, 24, a man.

Mr Wahab reiterated the state government’s commitment to enforcing environmental laws and maintaining cleanliness across Lagos, warning residents against indiscriminate waste disposal.

The arrests come amid intensified environmental enforcement actions by the state government in November. 

Also, the government launched a manhunt for suspected hoodlums who attacked and injured four officials of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps during an enforcement operation at a restaurant in Victoria Island.

The state government also arrested the restaurant’s supervisor and sealed the facility.

Mr Wahab said a joint team from the Lagos State Wastewater Management Office and the environmental sanitation corps had visited the restaurant for a follow-up enforcement after it was earlier sealed for allegedly discharging untreated wastewater, fats and oils into the environment.

Lagos State enforces its environmental sanitation laws through arrests, prosecutions and mobile court trials, targeting residents and businesses that dump refuse or discharge pollutants in unauthorised locations.

The agency has warned that offenders risk fines of up to N250,000 or jail terms, noting that indiscriminate waste disposal poses serious threats to public health and urban infrastructure.

Environmental enforcement agencies, including the Lagos Waste Management Authority and the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps, conduct routine early-morning surveillance to identify waste blackspots across the metropolis, attributing persistent illegal dumping largely to unregistered waste collectors and residents who bypass approved waste management channels.