The Lagos State Government has launched a decisive enforcement operation along the Lekki coastline, targeting unauthorised dredging and land reclamation activities.
The exercise, a joint effort by the Ministries of Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Physical Planning and Urban Development, the Environment and Water Resources, and the Lands Bureau, resulted in the sealing of multiple sites and the arrest of five suspects.
Leading the team, the Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Dayo Alebiosu, sealed a property at 13A, Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase I.
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The building was flagged for engaging in illegal reclamation work across the Lagoon and extending its fence without the required government permits.
Alebiosu condemned the repeated violations by the property owners, describing their actions as an act of “legendary audacity” and a blatant disregard for the law.
He noted the building had been sealed multiple times since last year, yet construction and social activities continued unabated.
The commissioner disclosed that the state government plans to prosecute the offenders, a process that could lead to the forfeiture of the illegally reclaimed land, with the recovered sand being diverted for other productive uses.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning, Olumide Oluyinka revealed that the property owner had expanded the site dramatically.
“The site is again sealed today. We will revoke all the authorities they have on this land. The construction is also not fully completed, but people are still partying there, which puts people’s lives at risk. That’s why we are sealing off this place,” Oluyinka stated.
He noted that the initially approved layout was 1,200 square meters, but the site has been illegally expanded to a massive 8,000 square meters.
The enforcement team also inspected the Lekki Foreshore, sealing numerous sites involved in illegal dredging and reclamation due to various environmental infractions. While five suspects were apprehended, others fled the scene upon the officials’ arrival.
Alebiosu lamented the massive scale of the illegal sand operations, which are carried out without the necessary Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA).
“We have no records of applications to carry out reclamation works along this axis. These operations are illegal,” he explained, adding that some dredging activities extend as far as 7km into the lagoon.
He also raised concerns about the proliferation of shanties along the lagoon, which he said are often used as hideouts for criminals.
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Permanent Secretary for the Office of Drainage Services, Mahmood Adegbite, noted that illegal operators have blocked three water channels leading into the lagoon, while Permanent Secretary of Environmental Services, Mobolaji Gaji, warned that the blockage of the primary water channel could negatively affect the local ecosystem.
Alebiosu concluded by reassuring Lagosians that the crackdown is a direct result of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s vow at the recent Waterfront Summit to intensify enforcement, warning that offenders will face the full weight of the law in line with the administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S Plus Development Agenda.
