The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has warned residents against turning abandoned properties in the metropolis to refuse dumps.

The Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, Ibrahim Odumboni, gave the warning in a statement on Saturday in Lagos.

Mr Odumboni said that the act, which also includes the use of waste to reclaim lands for future uses, are illegal practices constituting environmental offences.

According to him, the offences are punishable by outright forfeiture of such property and the prosecution of violators.

“LAWMA is issuing a strong warning that people should stop dumping refuse in abandoned properties. They should also desist from using waste to reclaim lands for the purpose of building houses.

“Anyone caught in those illegal practices will be made to face the wrath of the law, while such property will be instantly confiscated by government.

“We have said this many times but some residents are adamant. I am restating again that anyone caught in the act will be prosecuted.

“Our enforcement teams have been effectively mobilised to do the needful in this regard,” Mr Odumboni said.

The LAWMA chief also advised those involved in waste recycling to do their business in secured spaces that would not constitute environmental nuisance or attract reckless waste dumping by passers-by.

“A situation where people who don’t want to pay for PSP services, hide under the guise of recycling to dump their waste and discarded materials at uncompleted and abandoned buildings, will not be tolerated by the Authority.

“This nefarious act has turned such locations into breeding grounds for not only pests and diseases but also criminals,” he said.

Mr Odumboni said that LAWMA had worked in collaboration with several government agencies, including the MVAA and Neighbourhood Watch, to track waste migration and apprehend offenders, through timestamp cameras, in any part of the state.

He noted that the easy way out was for residents to acquire waste bins for their property and patronise assigned PSP operators, adding that the prosecution of tenements without waste bins would begin in January 2023.

(NAN)