The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) said its officials discovered an illegal storage and scrap yard at the backyard of a two-storey building in the Ikorodu area of the state.
Briefing journalists at her office in Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday after the enforcement exercise, the General Manager, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, said that the agency received anonymous call from concerned residents about the unfriendly environmental activities taking place at Salvation Avenue, off Ikorodu, Owode Onirin Lagos.
She said: “Our team, on the first visit, was refused entry and could not access the property due to strong resistance from the security guards who claimed the premises was a private property.
“Our conducts are guided by world best practices, and thus we posted an abatement notice, to invite the property owner or concerned person, which was flagrantly ignored.
“We, however, discovered during our second visit that the building which sits atop four plots of land with unknown address housed an illegal scrap yard that engages in nefarious activities such as storage of unwholesome processed foods, repackaging of drugs and juice drinks, improper destruction of expired drugs, chemicals, recycling of metals as well as dismantling of electrical and electronics waste within the premise.”
Dr Fasawe said it was worrisome that people operate unlawfully in a residential environment unchallenged by neighbours, adding that individual selfish interest must not be allowed to supersede communal benefits.
“We must be mindful of who we are allowing into our neighbourhood and the consequences of our actions on the society,” Fasawe said.
She warned property owners to desist from letting out their facilities for illegal activities or be prepared to face the wrath of the law.
Fasawe said that all expired drugs, chemicals as well as e-waste materials must be treated and recycled in a sustainable environment before disposal into the environment.
“To protect our earth from manmade disaster, report all unlawful conducts to the authorities for timely intervention” she reiterated.
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