Indiscriminate dumping of refuse has consequences, writes MUYIWA GBADEGESIN
In May, a short video clip sparked public outrage: a driver pulled up on the Alapere Link Bridge, opened the boot of his car, and tipped household refuse onto the carriageway before driving off. Within hours, our enforcement teams, working with the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC/KAI), identified and arrested the suspect.
By May 22–23, the Environmental and Special Offences Court sitting in Oshodi had ordered his remand at Kirikiri Correctional Centre, with the case adjourned for further hearing. The message was clear: indiscriminate dumping has consequences in Lagos.
That incident was not a one-off. In the weeks leading up to the arrest, we had publicly appealed for information and even offered a modest reward to help identify a serial dumper operating on the same bridge—an appeal supported by surveillance from field officers and tips from nearby traders. Community vigilance is not a slogan; it is the difference between a video that trends for a day and an arrest that deters repeat behaviour.
As Managing Director of LAWMA, I view enforcement through the lens of Lagos’s geography and exposure. We are a heavily populated, low-lying coastal state where rainfall can be intense and tidal influence is real. A bag of refuse tossed into a drain in Ketu does not disappear; it blocks culverts, exacerbates flooding, pushes contaminated water into homes and markets, and sends plastics and organics down our canals into the lagoons and the Atlantic.
Illegal dumping raises vector-borne disease risks, degrades fisheries and recreation, and imposes real economic costs on traders, commuters, and households after every downpour. This is why enforcement is integral to our waste-management system: it protects public health, climate resilience, and everyday livelihoods.
Over the past year, we have moved from episodic crackdowns to a standing, intelligence-led model that couples quick prosecution with community vigilance. In September 2025, our Legal Department filed 10 new matters against more than 25 individuals and business entities, acting on intelligence from private surveillance teams, estate associations and residents, and LAGESC across Egbeda, Ayobo, Ketu, Alimosho, Lekki, and Iyana Ipaja.
During the same review period, the Environmental and Special Offences Courts delivered judgments in over 80 environmental cases, imposing penalties totalling ₦15,090,000. Defaulters who could not pay received community service or were remanded at the appropriate correctional facilities—real consequences that raise the cost of non-compliance.
The pipeline is steady and transparent. From September 2024 to September 2025, LAWMA instituted 155 environmental-offence matters, concluded 82, and is prosecuting 46 ongoing trials, with 27 fresh summonses awaiting judicial endorsement. These are not isolated figures; they describe a system moving consistently from evidence to consequence.
The offences we encounter most frequently are straightforward but deeply harmful: failure to patronise accredited PSP operators; transportation of waste through unauthorised channels; dumping in drains, canals, and other unapproved locations; and failure to provide proper on-site storage.
These behaviours are illegal under the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law, 2017—among others, sections 79, 81, 85, 86, 88, 109, 118(1), 140, 144, and 169(1)(b)—because they place the many at risk for the convenience of a few.
Our operating philosophy is simple: enforcement works best when it is people-powered, preventive, and fair. We are strengthening multi-level intelligence gathering with estate and resident committees that monitor and report violations; encouraging whistle-blowers to share real-time, verifiable tips; and coordinating closely with LAGESC and the Ministry of Justice so that credible cases move quickly from arrest to prosecution.
We are also restoring the everyday presence of Environmental Health Officers—the “wole-wole”—whose inspections and guidance help stop problems before they escalate. This is how we make enforcement less about surprise raids and more about consistent standards that everyone understands.
The stakes are high in a coastal megacity. A single blocked culvert can back up stormwater across multiple streets; night-time tipping into canals travels downstream into wetlands and beaches; informal haulage scatters refuse along corridors that serve schools and markets.
By raising the cost of environmental offences through fines, community service, and, where necessary, custodial sentences, we keep drains clear, canals flowing, and neighbourhoods safer when the clouds open. The Alapere case shows what this looks like in practice: credible surveillance, swift arrest, and an unambiguous judicial response.
Our message to residents and businesses is direct. Patronise your assigned PSP operator and keep proper storage on your premises. Do not use informal or unauthorised haulers; they break the chain of accountability and often end up dumping in places that endanger your neighbours.
We all need to change our attitude to environmental issues. The earth, for now, is our home. It is where we live, breathe, eat, raise our children, etc. Therefore, we cannot afford to destroy the environment because our whole essence depends on it.
Consequently, when we imbibe positive attitudinal change towards the environment, we are sure of living free of any pollutants or hazards that we might introduce into our environment through human-induced activities.
Protecting the environment allows future generations of human beings to grow and live without having to deal with anything we have done to contaminate the environment in which we do live and they will live. Protecting the environment is, without doubt, the best way to protect ourselves against diseases and other harmful environmental hazards.
Traditionally, talks on environmental protection often center on the role of government, legislation, and law enforcement. However, environmental protection ought to be the duty of all the people and not simply that of the government.
Therefore, we all need to embrace positive attitude towards the environment. Parks should not be turned into market places, toilets, refuse dumps or places where animals graze. Failure to control animals or allowing their defecation or engaging in an unhygienic use of fountains, pools or water in the parks, gardens and open spaces would be counter- productive and as such must be discouraged.
With natural disasters occurring across the world, as a result of the abuse of the environment, this is the time for everyone to rethink their attitude to the environment. As previously stated, it is whatever we give to the environment that it gives back to us. Community leaders, traditional rulers, religious leaders, NGOs, and other stakeholders should work in partnership with the state government to ensure that current gains in the sector are sustained. It is only in doing this that the state government’s massive investment in protecting the environment would not be a waste.
If you see indiscriminate dumping or suspicious waste movement, report it. Credible, verifiable information shortens response times and strengthens prosecutions, making enforcement fairer and more effective for everyone.
Dr Gbadegesin is Managing Director, LAWMA
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