LAGOS, Nigeria – Civil society organisations, labour unions and community groups have threatened mass protests across Lagos if the state government moves to seal household boreholes or prosecute residents for extracting groundwater amid persistent gaps in public water supply.
The coalition, operating under the Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition (OWORAC), accused the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO) of creating uncertainty among residents through alleged threats of enforcement without adequately clarifying which domestic water sources are exempt from licensing requirements.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the coalition argued that millions of residents depend on privately drilled boreholes because public water infrastructure has failed to provide adequate and reliable water supplies. It cited Section 253(1) of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law 2017, which it said exempts household wells and boreholes from licensing requirements.
The groups called on LASWARCO to clarify its regulatory position and assure residents that household boreholes would not be arbitrarily sealed or subjected to unlawful enforcement. They argued that residents should not be penalised for making alternative arrangements to access water where government infrastructure has failed to meet their basic needs. “A government that actively absolves itself of the constitutional duty to deliver water cannot legitimately turn around to criminalise and extort citizens who were forced to become their own mini-water authorities and service providers,” the coalition said.
The coalition urged the Lagos State Government to prioritise the rehabilitation of existing waterworks, expand public water supply infrastructure and strengthen regulation of industrial groundwater extraction and pollution. It also called for stronger oversight of commercial and industrial users whose groundwater activities could contribute to environmental degradation and depletion of water resources.
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