The Lagos State Government has clarified that residents are free to move around during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, stressing that there is no restriction on movement during the exercise.
Newsonspot reports that the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, made the clarification on Saturday while responding to a complaint on X from a user who alleged that someone had been arrested and taken to the Ikeja Police Station for moving during the sanitation exercise.
According to Wahab, anyone arrested solely for moving around during the monthly sanitation exercise has been unlawfully detained, adding that such actions do not represent the policy or position of the Lagos State Government.
He urged anyone affected by such an unlawful arrest to report the incident to the appropriate authorities.
The commissioner explained that the monthly environmental sanitation exercise was reintroduced to revive and strengthen the culture of environmental cleanliness across Lagos State.
Wahab noted that although the initiative is backed by the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law, 2017, the law does not authorise restrictions on residents’ movement during the exercise.
He further stated that the government’s priority is to encourage Lagos residents to see environmental sanitation as a civic responsibility and a shared commitment to maintaining a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, rather than relying on arrests or enforcement measures.
