Thursday, March, 5 2026 - No fewer than 4,000 persons arrested for dumping refuse on roadsides, drainage channels, medians and other unauthorised locations across Lagos State in the last 12 months have been prosecuted, the state government has said.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources,
Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with PUNCH Metro at his
office on Wednesday.
Wahab’s comments come amid renewed concerns over heaps of
waste dumped on road medians in parts of the state, raising questions about the
capacity of Private Sector Participants and the Lagos Waste Management
Authority to effectively manage refuse collection.
Expressing displeasure at what he described as blatant
violations of environmental laws, the commissioner queried the rationale behind
indiscriminate waste disposal by Lagos residents, saying, “The question we need
to ask is: Why are people taking waste from their homes and dumping it on the
median? Is that fair to the state? Sometimes, you wake up and see people using
very beautiful and expensive vehicles to dump refuse on the roadside or on road
medians.”
He emphasized that enforcement remains a central component
of the state government’s Clean Lagos strategy.
“We have arrested a lot of them (environmental violators).
My belief is that there must be consequences for bad behavior. That is why we
take them to court. We have prosecuted over 4,000 in the last 12 months. We are
not playing.
“There is no way you will have laws, and you can’t enforce
them. In Singapore, you can’t chew gum because you will pay a penalty.”
In response to complaints by residents that the PSP
operators rarely collect waste, Wahab emphasised the importance of payment
compliance.
“If you don’t pay, how do you want to enjoy the service?
They are business people. The government still intervenes by supporting them
with subsidies and grants,” he said.
While admitting that the waste evacuation framework requires
adjustments, he maintained that the system is workable.
“The system will work, but we need to rejig it to ensure
operators earn commensurate income from their businesses, while maintaining a
balance where LAWMA also does much more.”
The commissioner also revealed that the state is expanding
its landfill capacity, with new sites under development in Epe, Oke-Oso and
Erekete in Badagry.
“With the opening of new landfills around Epe, Oke-Oso and
Erekete in Badagry, we must put proper infrastructure in place to make them
attractive and accessible to the PSP operators,” he said.
Drawing a global comparison, Wahab referenced recent waste
management challenges in the United Kingdom.
“This time last year, the whole of Birmingham was dealing
with mountains of refuse for about seven to eight months. That is a developed
country. It was a phase. All over the world, waste management is a challenge.
But what we will never do is raise our hands and surrender. That would mean we
have failed.”
He claimed that the situation in Lagos had improved in
recent weeks following stricter oversight and enforcement.
“In the past few weeks, if we are fair to the government,
things have tremendously improved.
“We have started monitoring the PSP operators and warned
them that if they can’t meet the expectations of refusal collection and
disposal, we will take them out of the system. LAWMA has also doubled its
support in terms of capacity. That is why there is noticeable improvement
across the state.”
Reiterating his stance on enforcement, Wahab maintained that
environmental compliance must be taken seriously.
According to a report by PUNCH Metro in December 2025, Lagos
State generates over 13,000 metric tonnes of waste daily — a volume that
exceeds the daily output of some African countries — underscoring the scale of
the challenge confronting the state’s waste management system.
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