Environmental offenders now face harsh penalties from the Lagos State Government, which include fines of N250,000 or up to three months in jail for individuals found unlawfully disposing of trash or fouling public areas.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, revealed this.
Repeat violators would face much more severe punishments, he said, adding that the state would no longer allow disobedience to environmental regulations.
Wahab said, “Serial offenders will face even stiffer punishments.”
The Ministry’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Kunle Adeshina, said in a statement that Wahab’s message marks a renewed onslaught on environmental indiscipline throughout Lagos, with no room for justifications from those who violate the law.
“We won’t make a mistake. We will keep increasing our enforcement and raising awareness,” Wahab said.
The commissioner emphasized that the state’s prohibition on cart pushers is still in effect because they are a significant source of careless garbage disposal.
Let me stress that the prohibition on cart pushers has not been lifted because they are the ones who dump garbage indiscriminately around the state.
“Residents should desist from patronising them and always patronise registered PSP,” he warned.
He also talked about the rising number of construction-related infractions, especially those committed by developers who block roads and drains with construction debris. Wahab underlined that these websites will be closed and their proprietors will face legal action.
He declared, “The state intends to clamp down firmly on the serious offense of dumping building materials on roads or drains.”
Wahab stated that although the state has convicted more than 3,000 individuals thus far, enforcement actions are far from finished.
He declared, “This is only the beginning.”
To make sure offenders are “arrested, prosecuted, named, and shamed,” enforcement teams from the Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, the Kick Against Indiscipline, KAI, brigade, and other affiliated agencies are now working around the clock.
One particular issue is the misuse of pedestrian bridges, where locals have been discouraged from utilizing the facilities safely due to petty criminality, open defecation, and unlawful squatting.
“They put lives in danger by discouraging pedestrians from using the bridges,” Wahab stated.
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