Barely 48 hours after residents and business owners around Jakande Estate Gate, Oke Afa, in the Isolo area of Lagos State raised the alarm over heaps of refuse littering the median of their estate road, the Lagos State Government has intensified enforcement against indiscriminate waste disposal in different parts of the state.

PUNCH Metro had reported on Monday, August 25, that residents in the community lamented the stench and health risks from refuse that often remained uncleared for days. They also alleged that people from neighbouring communities drove down to dump waste in the area, worsening the environmental hazard.

But in what appeared to be a direct response to the growing concerns about Lagos’ waste management, the Lagos State Wastewater Management Office on Wednesday sealed off a residential property on Apongbon Street, Lagos Island, for deliberately discharging faeces into public drains.

According to the enforcement team, the building, identified as Pa Kasumu Adepeju Olaniyonu House, 22, Apongbon Street, was shut “for causing public nuisance, environmental pollution and endangering human life.”

Two days later, on August 29, officials of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, in a coordinated operation, arrested no fewer than 40 persons engaging in unlawful activities around Ozumba Mbadiwe Road and parts of Lekki.

The suspects, aged between 18 and 45, were accused of acts ranging from illegal dumping of waste to street mischiefs threatening the safety and cleanliness of the environment.

“All arrested individuals are being processed and will face prosecution in line with the law,” Tokunbo Wahab, Commissioner of Health and Water Resources, disclosed via his social media handle.

Also, the agency’s Waste Infractions Surveillance Investigation Team, on Saturday, arrested eight persons along the Lekki-Epe Expressway for illegally disposing of refuse at unauthorized sites. Those arrested included 37-year-old Oluwamomi Mankinde and 39-year-old Martha Simon.

“Lagosians are enjoined to embrace proper waste and wastewater management and hygiene practices to enhance public health and environmental sustainability. We will not allow lawlessness to undermine environmental safety in the state,” Tokunbo Wahab added.

Meanwhile, some Isolo residents told our correspondent on Sunday that they hoped the clampdown would extend to their community.

A vulcaniser, Kazeen Balogun, said: “We have complained for long. If LAWMA can arrest people in Lekki, they should also come here. The odour we inhale every day is a big risk.”

Another resident, Olayemi Abiodun, echoed the sentiment, insisting that stricter monitoring of the Jakande Estate Gate would deter outsiders who troop in to dump refuse.

For now, Lagos residents wait to see if the renewed enforcement will trickle down to neglected communities already overwhelmed by refuse heaps. (The PUNCH)

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