In a sweeping enforcement exercise on Sunday, the Lagos State Government clamped down on illegal dredging and reclamation activities along the Lekki shoreline, sealing off several sites and arresting five suspects.
The joint operation, led by the Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Hon. Dayo Bush Alebiosu, involved officials from the Ministries of Physical Planning, Environment and Water Resources, and the Lands Bureau. A building at 13A Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1, was shut for illegally extending its fence and reclaiming parts of the lagoon without government approval.
Describing the owners’ defiance as “an act of legendary audacity,” Alebiosu said the property had been sealed multiple times since last year but construction and social activities continued unabated. He vowed that offenders would be prosecuted, and illegally reclaimed land could be forfeited.
Advertisement
To order your copy, send a WhatsApp message to +1 317 665 2180
Commissioner for Physical Planning, Dr. Olumide Oluyinka, disclosed that the property owner had initially presented plans for 1,200sqm but had illegally expanded to about 8,000sqm.
“The site is again sealed today. We will revoke all approvals. It is unacceptable that people are partying in a structure that is not even completed, endangering lives,” he stated.
The enforcement team also stormed illegal dredging sites at the Lekki foreshore, sealing them for environmental infractions. Several operators fled, but five suspects were apprehended. Officials said some dredging extended as far as seven kilometers into the lagoon without permits or Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA).
Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services, Mahmood Adegbite, noted that illegal operators had blocked three water channels into the lagoon, while his counterpart in Environmental Services, Mobolaji Gaji, warned that the disruption of natural water flow posed a grave ecological risk.
The enforcement team further inspected the Ilubirin housing project to ascertain waterfront compliance. Alebiosu stressed that the operation followed resolutions from the recent Waterfront Summit where Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu directed tougher action against environmental abuses.
“The state will continue to safeguard its waterfronts and lagoons from reckless exploitation. Offenders will face the full weight of the law,” Alebiosu said.
Also present at the exercise were the Executive Secretary of the Lands Bureau, Lolade Ajetumobi, General Manager of LAGESC, Major Olaniyi Cole (Rtd), and other top officials.
