Korede Abdullah 
Lagos, Nigeria – The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) has raised renewed concerns over the escalating health threats posed by unchecked industrial pollution across the state.
Speaking at a statewide sensitisation seminar on Tuesday, themed “Treat your industrial waste responsibly and protect our environment for a sustainable future,” LASEPA General Manager, Babatunde Ajayi, warned that environmental pollution now accounts for “about 25 per cent of diseases reported in hospitals in Lagos.”
Ajayi stressed that public health and environmental management are inseparable, adding that the government “does not take the issue of compliance lightly,” having sanctioned 74 companies this year for violating pollution-control regulations.
He explained that eliminating industrial waste entirely is difficult but insisted that companies must comply with disposal standards. “Attempts to stop one form of pollution often create another,” he noted, emphasising why the agency prioritises awareness and collaborative stakeholder engagement over sanctions.
Ajayi urged residents to report any organisation discharging untreated waste into the environment and reaffirmed LASEPA’s commitment to continuous public education.
Former LASEPA General Manager, Antonio Ayodele, intensified the warning during his lecture on effluent and air pollution, revealing that “over 700 industries discharge effluent into the environment daily in Lagos,” often through concealed or nocturnal operations.
He lamented that “about 60 per cent of Lagos water bodies receive polluted waste,” recalling a time he could swim in the lagoon — a practice he described as impossible today due to widespread contamination.
Ayodele said many industries still lack functional treatment plants, a situation he described as “a major threat to public health.”
Representing the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment, Mr Oladipupo Adeyemi commended LASEPA for its campaigns, saying “information mobilisation is key to compliance,” and reminding stakeholders that a healthy population depends on a healthy environment.
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Hussaini Ibrahim 
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