By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, has disclosed that the Lagos State Government has prosecuted no fewer than 4,000 residents for illegal waste dumping across the state in the last 12 months.
Wahab made the revelation during an exclusive interview at his office on Wednesday,4 March,2026 amid mounting concerns over heaps of refuse dumped on road medians and other unauthorised locations across the state.
The development has sparked questions about the effectiveness of Private Sector Participants (PSPs) and the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) in managing refuse collection.
Expressing frustration at what he described as blatant violations of environmental laws, the commissioner questioned the rationale behind residents transporting household waste to road medians and drainage channels.
“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?” Wahab asked.
“Sometimes, you wake up and see people using very beautiful and expensive vehicles to dump refuse on the roadside or on road medians.”
He stressed that enforcement remains central to the state’s Clean Lagos strategy, noting that arrests and prosecutions are deliberate deterrent measures.
“We have arrested a lot of them. My belief is that there must be consequences for bad behaviour. That is why we take them to court. We have prosecuted over 4,000 in the last 12 months. We are not playing,” he said.
“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,” he added, drawing a comparison to stricter global standards.
Responding to complaints from residents that PSP operators fail to collect waste regularly, Wahab emphasised payment compliance as critical to service delivery.
“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 acknowledging that the waste evacuation framework requires adjustments, the commissioner maintained that the system remains viable.
“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,” he stated.
Furthermore, Wahab revealed that the state is expanding landfill capacity, with new sites under development in Epe, Oke-Oso, and Erekete in Badagry. He stressed the need for proper infrastructure to support operations at the new facilities.
“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 international parallels, the commissioner 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 said.
According to Wahab, conditions in Lagos have improved in recent weeks due to stricter monitoring and enforcement measures.
“In the past few weeks, if we are fair to the government, things have tremendously improved,” he said.
“We have started monitoring the PSP operators and warned them that if they can’t meet the expectations of refuse 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, the commissioner insisted that environmental compliance must be treated with seriousness, particularly in a megacity of Lagos’ scale.
