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Lagos’ show of shame: City stinks as LAWMA enforcement flaws laid bare – EnviroNews
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The return of refuse at previously cleared locations appears to be testing efforts by the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to curb illegal dumping.
The recurring problem is also forcing some Lagos residents to seek alternatives as irregular waste collection leaves refuse piling up around homes and neighbourhoods.
LAWMA, in a statement on Friday, August 21, 2026, said it had intensified enforcement and monitoring to prevent renewed dumping.
In its latest operation in Ayobo-Ipaja, LAWMA impounded two tricycles allegedly used to convey refuse to supposedly unauthorised dumping points.
The operation, which focused on Megida and surrounding areas, also involved evacuating accumulated refuse from road medians that had become dumping hotspots and become a source of embarrassment to government.
The Managing Director of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said surveillance showed that illegal trading activities contributed to the recurrence of waste dumping.
He said some traders used road medians as markets, creating conditions that encouraged indiscriminate disposal and made waste management more difficult.
“We are working here right now to clear the accumulated waste and restore the affected areas to acceptable environmental standards,” he said.
“At the same time, our enforcement team is on the ground to address the activities responsible for the recurrence of these dumping points,” he said.
For residents, however, the problem goes beyond enforcement, with some saying inconsistent waste collection has left them struggling to keep their surroundings clean.
Miss Nkiru William, a resident of Oshodi, said refuse overflow sometimes reduced after LAWMA cleared the area, but the main waste point remained problematic.
“At Oshodi, refuse is overflowing. From time to time, the overflow will reduce but the main waste point will remain,” William said.
She said waste accumulated rapidly because it was not evacuated quickly enough.
The Lagos Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, said LAWMA cleared 3,000 black spots across 57 routes every day.
He also said LAWMA secured the conviction of 16 environmental offenders arraigned before the Oshodi Special Offences and Mobile Court in July.
Wahab said behavioural change remained critical to sustaining improvements in waste management.
He said Lagos was also reforming its waste infrastructure to move away from the traditional collect-and-dump model.
“The bigger reform is infrastructure. Lagos cannot continue with the old collect-and-dump model,” Wahab said.
The infrastructure upgrade includes Transfer Loading Stations under construction at Olusosun, Ojota, and Solous III, Igando, alongside Material Recovery Facilities in Ikorodu and Badagry.
Wahab also acknowledged complaints about waste evacuation backlogs and service failures affecting some residents.
“So yes, the complaints are valid. Some backlogs should not have happened. Some residents have not received the service they deserve,” he said.
Some residents interviewed said irregular collection had pushed them towards informal waste collectors to prevent refuse from accumulating around their homes.
Miss Suliat Johnson, a resident of Haruna, Ogba, said her PSP operator previously collected waste weekly but had stopped coming.
“These past two months, we haven’t seen them around and the wastes are spilling everywhere,” she said.
Johnson said the situation had forced residents to consider cart pushers because accumulated refuse had become difficult to tolerate.
“If we can even find those cart pushers, we will gladly use them because the stench is enough to send someone into depression,” she said.
Similarly, Mr. Samuel Akintoluwa, a resident of Agege, said he stopped using LAWMA services because of irregular collection.
“I was using LAWMA before, but they are not consistent and we pay N3,000 per flat,” he said.
He said the availability of cart pushers influenced his decision to use them instead.
“I use those cart pushers because anytime you need them, they will come,” he said.
Gbadegesin acknowledged that heavy rainfall had affected access, slowed truck movement and temporarily delayed waste evacuation.
“Government rehabilitated Road E, provided new disposal platforms, improved truck circulation, expanded operational access and strengthened evacuation logistics,” he said.
Gbadegesin said the Transfer Loading Stations were expected to be completed within six months, with each designed to handle about 2,500 tonnes of waste daily.
He said behavioural change remained an important challenge alongside infrastructure and waste evacuation.
According to him, Project WISE operations targeted illegal dumping, while the authority also closed markets for persistent violations, arrested offenders and pursued prosecutions.
“Our approach combines enforcement, infrastructure and behavioural change,” Gbadegesin said.
An environmentalist, Mr. Friday Oku, President of the Association of Waste Managers and Waste Pickers of Lagos, said household collection needed greater attention.
Oku called for waste pickers to be formally integrated into the waste-management system and linked with PSP operators.
He proposed mapping households and assigning waste pickers to collect refuse and transfer it to designated points.
“Waste pickers should be incorporated into the system and used to collect refuse directly from mapped households and take it to designated points where PSP operators can collect it,” Oku said.
He said formal integration could create jobs while improving accountability within the waste collection chain.
Oku said stronger household collection could also reduce the recurrence of illegal dumping hotspots across Lagos.
“Lasting cleanliness may require improving the collection chain at household level, rather than relying mainly on clearing and enforcement at illegal dumping hotspots,” he said.
Meanwhile, some residents and shop owners in Orile, Iganmu, Lagos, have appealed for urgent intervention over persistent refuse accumulation.
They said the situation was affecting businesses, sanitation and daily activities in the community, with some residents also expressing concern about mosquitoes and flies.
The residents made the complaints in separate interviews in Lagos.
An observation revealed scattered refuse, dirty water and accumulated waste, with an unpleasant odour around the area.
A fish seller in Iludun said the refuse was affecting her business, as some customers were reluctant to buy fish in an unhygienic environment.
“I’m not happy about how the dirt is blocking my customers from coming to patronise me,” she said.
She said some customers feared flies could contaminate the fish, adding that she had resorted to clearing some of the refuse herself.
The trader appealed to the Lagos State Government to intervene and provide a lasting solution to the waste problem.
Rukkuyat Issac, a resident of Iludun, said the poor condition of the road made it difficult for the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to access the area.
She said the situation had affected waste evacuation and expressed concern about mosquitoes around the community.
“I hope something can be done because it’s really affecting my baby’s health. I have to get treatment for my baby all the time because of the mosquitoes,” she said.
Issac also said she experienced frequent coughing and appealed to the state government to urgently address the situation.
Another resident, Ekene Obi, said the refuse problem had persisted for years, adding that residents often dumped waste there because they had no designated disposal point.
He said residents were often unable to identify those responsible for dumping the waste and called for a sustainable waste disposal arrangement.
At Amukoko Cemetery, along Orile Road, refuse piled around the road median, obstructing the pedestrian route used to cross the road.
Hawwah, a resident of Amukoko Cemetery, said the last evacuation of refuse in the area was about three weeks ago.
She attributed the situation to inadequate waste bins and irregular waste collection, saying residents sometimes resorted to roadside dumping.
Hawwah said businesses and residents were being affected, particularly when waste accumulated and rainfall caused flooding around the area.
“Customers avoid the area. Nobody wants to buy food from the shops or sit around,” she said.
“When it rains, the whole road is flooded, causing shops around here to lose sales,” Hawwah added.
She also expressed concern about mosquitoes and flies around the refuse and called for improved waste collection services.
LAWMA, in its 2026 Mid-Year Media Parley presentation, said heavy rainfall had affected access in parts of Lagos, slowing truck movement and temporarily delaying waste evacuation.
The agency said the government had responded with road rehabilitation, new disposal platforms, improved truck circulation and stronger evacuation logistics.
The residents, however, called for improved waste collection, adequate disposal facilities and regular evacuation to restore sanitation and protect daily economic activities.
By Uchechi Afonne
and Mariam Hassan
