The Lagos State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the strict enforcement of sanitation laws across the state, with renewed efforts by its environmental enforcement agency, Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), resulting in the arrest and prosecution of 3,786 street traders, environmental polluters, and cart pushers. In addition, 150 individuals were arrested for open defecation on pedestrian bridges.
This was disclosed by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, during the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, to mark the sixth anniversary of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration.
Wahab stated that enforcement actions had also led to the arrest of 6,789 persons who failed to use pedestrian bridges, with the agency issuing 192 Environmental Abatement Notices. According to him, the crackdown was part of broader efforts to enhance sanitation and restore order in public spaces.
He said the enforcement drive was carried out in collaboration with the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences and had also led to the clearance of rail tracks and demolition of shanties at various locations, including Apongbon Bridge, Lekki, Victoria Island, Agege, Obalende, and along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
Highlighting progress in flood prevention, Wahab noted that the government’s partnership with waste conversion organisations had significantly reduced incidents of flash floods, as stormwater drains were now less clogged by waste and debris.
He disclosed that in the past year, over 300 kilometres of secondary collector drains and 70 kilometres of primary channels had been awarded for concrete lining. While several of these projects were still ongoing, others had just been awarded to enhance stormwater management and reduce long-term maintenance needs.
From 2023 to 2024, the commissioner said 22.9 kilometres of collector drains and 12.43 kilometres of primary channels were in various stages of completion. Additionally, 36.44 kilometres of collector drains were currently in the procurement stage for award in 2025.
He further explained that a cumulative 666.7 kilometres of secondary collector drains, covering 397 locations across the state, had been maintained or cleaned. The removal of illegal structures within the drainage Right-of-Way helped restore 12 primary channels and 84 secondary collectors, totalling 32.5 and 96 kilometres respectively.
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In 2024 alone, the Emergency Flood Abatement Gang (EFAG) cleaned 181 collectors spanning 242,846.5 metres, while 72 collectors covering 166,846.5 metres had already been cleaned in 2025.
Wahab also revealed that the state had begun de-flooding drainage channels passing through schools, with 18 cleared in 2024 across Agege, Alimosho, Surulere, Epe, Ikorodu, Badagry, and Ajeromi-Ifelodun. An additional seven channels had already been deflooded in 2025.
He announced that contracts had been awarded for a comprehensive flood-control project on Lagos Island, covering Oroyinyin, Idumagbo, Binuyo, Aroloya, Epe, and Ojo-Giwa, with work already in progress to completely address flooding in those areas.
To tackle tidal flooding, Wahab noted that the Sanwo-Olu administration had completed the construction of a state-of-the-art pumping station at Ilubirin, designed to discharge stormwater from Lagos Island into the lagoon via an elevated channel. He described the facility as the first of its kind in Africa, forming part of the broader Lagos Island regeneration project.
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