Man Gets 13-month Community Service For Dumping Refuse In Lagos

A 48-year-old man, Makinde Rasaq, has been sentenced to 13 months of community service at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre for illegal waste dumping in Lagos.

Rasaq was convicted by the Special Offences Mobile Court sitting in Oshodi on Monday after pleading guilty to seven charges.

According to a statement shared on the Lagos State Government’s official X handle on Tuesday, the convict was arrested last week at Lagos Island while conveying refuse in a Honda SUV. The court imposed varying jail terms with an option of community service, which cumulatively amounted to 13 months.

The offences included breach of public peace, indiscriminate dumping of waste, failure to patronise approved Private Sector Participation (PSP) waste operators, illegal transportation of waste without a valid licence, and obstruction of government officials in the discharge of their duties.

Authorities suspected that Rasaq may be part of a syndicate deliberately dumping waste across the state in an attempt to portray Lagos as unclean.

He was apprehended on Saturday night while dumping refuse at the Tinubu Fountain in Central Lagos. Following his arrest, Rasaq was initially detained at the Adeniji-Adele Police Station before being handed over to officers of Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) for arraignment by legal officers from the Lagos State Ministry of Justice.

Reacting to the conviction, the Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr Muyiwa Gbedegesin, said the judgement sends a strong message of the state’s zero tolerance for indiscriminate waste disposal.