Lagos Enforces Environmental Laws as KAI Intensifies Statewide Clean-Up
Korede Abdullah 
LAGOS, Nigeria – Lagos authorities intensify enforcement of environmental laws as sanitation officials warn residents that non-compliance threatens public health and urban order.
The Corps Marshal of the Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), Major Olaniyi Olatunbosun Cole (retd), urges Lagos residents to obey environmental regulations, saying sustained enforcement remains central to restoring order across Africa’s largest city.
Speaking in Lagos on Wednesday to mark his second anniversary in office, Cole says the agency has expanded surveillance, public advocacy and enforcement operations to curb environmental violations across the state.
“Since assuming office with my three Deputy Corps Marshals, we have remained relentless in restoring environmental sanity,” Cole says. “Our operatives are motivated daily to ensure compliance in line with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s THEMES+ agenda.”
Cole discloses that recent clearance operations cover flashpoints including the Ebute-Meta–Yaba railway corridor, Dolphin and Cele underbridges, and the Idunmota–Ebute-Ero–Elegbata axis, areas long associated with illegal trading and waste dumping.
He says enforcement spans Lagos Mainland, Island and hinterland communities, supported by routine patrols of markets, residential estates and commercial hubs aimed at encouraging voluntary compliance.
The Corps Marshal commends commanders across the agency’s 21 formations for professionalism, noting that regular patrols have improved public awareness and reduced infractions in some districts.
LAGESC continues to arrest and prosecute offenders for street trading, jaywalking, open defecation and urination, indiscriminate refuse dumping, public nuisance, oil bunkering and illegal drug activities, Cole says.
He stresses that enforcement is not punitive but preventive. “Environmental order is critical to safety, health and economic productivity. Compliance benefits everyone,” he adds.
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Mirian Gom 
Chukwu Obinna 
Oluwafunbi Bello