Lagos warns of more heavy rains, demolishes shanties

The Lagos State Government has warned residents to prepare for more heavy rainfall and possible flash floods in the coming weeks, urging people living in flood-prone communities to relocate to safer areas as authorities intensify efforts to reduce the impact of flooding.

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The warning comes after days of persistent rainfall left several parts of the state flooded, submerging roads and homes, disrupting businesses and stranding commuters and motorists.

The latest advisory follows Tuesday’s widespread flooding, which submerged major roads and residential areas across Lagos, including parts of Lekki, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Maryland, Ikeja, Ikorodu and Ajah. The flooding disrupted commercial activities, forced many residents to evacuate water from their homes and left commuters stranded for hours.

Many residents were forced to bail floodwater out of their homes as the rains, which began on Sunday and intensified on Tuesday, continued in parts of the state on Wednesday.

Despite the widespread flooding, the government appealed for calm, saying measures were being implemented to mitigate its effects.

Speaking on Wednesday during an inspection of the demolition of illegal structures and shanties erected on the median of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, stated residents must support the government’s efforts to address flooding and environmental degradation.

Mr Wahab said the demolition, ordered by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, targets illegal structures and commercial activities encroaching on the highway’s median.

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Explaining the recent flooding, the commissioner attributed it largely to flash floods caused by heavy rainfall coinciding with high tidal levels, which temporarily prevented stormwater from draining into the lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean.

He noted that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had earlier forecast thunderstorms, heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding in Lagos and several other states.

Mr Wahab also recalled that while presenting the state’s 2026 Seasonal Climate Prediction, the government projected above-normal rainfall, with annual precipitation expected to range between 1,650 millimetres and 3,030 millimetres, warning residents at the time to prepare for periods of intense rainfall and possible flooding during the rainy season.

“Flash flooding is basically when the sea level is up. When it rains heavily, your stormwater cannot discharge into the lagoon or its discharge point. It will hold back for about one or two hours.

“Even after the rain stops, within one or two hours, the water will recede because nature allows it to return to the discharge point. That’s why we call it flash flooding,” he stressed.

The commissioner, however, acknowledged that some parts of the state continue to experience persistent flooding, citing Ajiran as one of the affected communities.

According to him, some of the flooding challenges stem from illegal land reclamation by private landowners.

“There are one or two areas that have persistent flooding, and we are addressing them. One of them is Ajiran. It is not because of the government, but because of irresponsible land-owning families.

“We are extending the drainage channels to the lagoon. Those are the issues we are addressing,” he said.

Mr Wahab also urged residents to dispose of waste properly through their designated Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators, warning that dumping refuse on roads, drainage channels and road medians significantly worsens flooding.

He advised residents to report erring PSP operators to the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), saying waste collection contractors are obligated to provide timely services.

The demolition forms part of the state’s wider enforcement campaign against environmental violations that officials say contribute to flooding. In recent years, the government has repeatedly removed illegal structures built on drainage alignments and road setbacks while warning against trading on road medians and dumping refuse into drainage channels.

On the ongoing demolition exercise, the commissioner said the government would strictly enforce the ban on trading and other illegal activities on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway median.

He warned that anyone who returned to occupy the cleared areas would be removed and prosecuted.

“We just need to see the level of compliance and the level of work that has been done based on the directive of the governor.

“We’ve drawn the mark on the ground. It’s a major highway. Tons of taxpayers’ money have been used to put this in place. In the past few years, we’ve been talking to them and moving them back.

“For now, the operation is once and for all to control it. Let the businesses have a setback and make the median free for all road users,” he explained.

Responding to questions about preventing illegal occupants from returning, Mr Wahab said enforcement teams would continue to monitor the corridor.

“We will continue to patrol and monitor every day,” he said.

He added that the wide median was reserved for the proposed rail line and therefore could not be occupied for trading or other commercial activities.

“It’s for the rail line coming this way. That’s why it’s wide and we have to keep it free for them,” he added.

READ ALSO: PHOTO STORY: Inside the aftermath of Lagos flooding

The commissioner also blamed indiscriminate waste disposal by residents and traders for worsening flooding across the state.

“Keep our surroundings clean. Let us use the PSP operators. If they are not coming, call LAWMA. Inform LAWMA and let it collect your waste.

“It doesn’t speak well of us for people to take waste from their homes and dump it on the median. It’s a polluter-pays policy, but some people are not even paying,” he stated.

Mr Wahab noted that the state government would continue enforcing environmental laws, disclosing that more than 1,000 offenders had been prosecuted in the past year.

“We have been prosecuting. In the past year, over 1,000 people have been prosecuted. We are not holding back. That is what the law provides for. Once there is a law, you must enforce it and attach consequences for bad behaviour,” he said.