The Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, has sacked some street sweepers, supervisors and a service provider over alleged illegal waste dumping along the Oworonshoki-Berger axis of Lagos.
LAWMA Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said the decision followed weeks of surveillance and investigation of the road median, which had become a repeated dumping site.
According to him, findings showed that some of the affected sweepers were directly involved in the act and had admitted to it during questioning.
“Those employed to keep Lagos clean must not be part of the problem,” Gbadegesin stated. “We will not tolerate any act that undermines our efforts to maintain a clean and healthy environment.”
He added that LAWMA would intensify monitoring of all identified waste hotspots across the state and would take enforcement action against staff, service providers, residents and businesses caught violating waste disposal laws.
In a related development, two suspected illegal dumpers were arrested around the Berger-Oworonshoki area.
One of them, Timileyin Ojo, was allegedly caught using a wheelbarrow to dump refuse on the road median. The second suspect was accused of carrying out unauthorized waste collection.
Both suspects have been transferred to the Oshodi Task Force Office, also known as the Mobile Court, for further investigation and possible prosecution under state environmental laws.
LAWMA urged residents, businesses and waste collectors to use only approved waste disposal channels and to engage licensed Private Sector Participants, PSPs, for waste collection.
The Authority said the cleanup and enforcement drive will continue across Lagos as part of efforts to sustain environmental sanity.