The Lagos State government has demolished 17 houses to restore the Right of Way (RoW) along the Ikota River alignment in Oral Estate II, Lekki, as part of efforts to reclaim encroached waterways and address flooding risks in the area.
The state also issued immediate stop-work and seal orders on ongoing illegal reclamation around Partibons Homes Estate and Bee-Forth Estate Phase 2, off Orchid Road in Lekki, following reports that individuals were narrowing the river channel to create plots for sale.
Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, who led an inspection tour of the area, described the activities as “heart-wrenching”, lamenting that “some individuals have deliberately chosen to destroy the ecosystem provided by nature.”
He said the ministry received an SOS alert about aggressive land reclamation along the river, adding that the perpetrators were already erecting illegal structures for sale to unsuspecting members of the public.
According to him, flooding in Lagos, a coastal city surrounded by rivers and lagoons, cannot be completely prevented but can only be mitigated through resilient infrastructure and sustainable management practices.
“The present administration has introduced different approaches to mitigate flooding, including continuous maintenance of drainage channels by the EFAG team and the construction of secondary collectors and primary channels across the state,” Wahab said.
He expressed concern that some developers were blocking natural drainage systems, notably channels 156 and 157, which discharge into the Ikota River and onward into the Lagoon. “Stormwater discharge was designed by nature itself, but human activities have distorted it. The government will not fold its hands and allow the implications to affect the majority,” he warned.
Wahab was accompanied on the tour by the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, as both ministries inspected environmental infractions along the Lekki-Epe Expressway corridor in preparation for the upcoming Green Rail Line project.
Wahab noted that automobile dealers along the corridor had been served abatement notices on September 26, 2025, for encroaching beyond their temporary approved sites into wetlands and under high-tension power lines. He said their actions violated the original master plan for the Green Line project being implemented by the Ministry of Transportation.
He emphasised that wetlands are vital to flood control and should be preserved. “Wetlands are meant to hold water until rains subside, but drone footage after the recent heavy rainfall showed that most of the wetlands, where coconut trees were planted along the Lekki-Epe corridor, have been seriously bastardised,” he said.
The Environment Commissioner directed immediate enforcement actions against environmental infractions to restore the wetlands and realign the Green Line master plan.
Speaking during the tour, the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Seun Osiyemi, said the Green Line project, set to begin in December, had undergone extensive stakeholder engagement and feasibility studies. He explained that the right of way was established over two decades ago and that current issues revolve around illegal encroachment on wetlands and powerline corridors.
Osiyemi said the Green Line would run from Marina to Epe in phases, with the first phase covering Lekki First Tollgate to Epe and the second phase taking an aquatic route from Marina.
The entire project, he added, is expected to span between two and three years.
The team also inspected the ongoing construction of the Agodogba Collector Drain at Parkview Estate, which, when completed, is expected to deflood the area. Wahab said the secondary collector drain and newly installed pumping station would reduce flooding in Parkview and neighbouring communities to the barest minimum.
Other officials on the inspection tour included the Special Adviser on Environment, Mr Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu; Permanent Secretaries, Environmental Services, Mr Gaji Omobolaji, and Drainage Services, Mr Mahamood Adegbite; Managing Director of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin; General Manager of LASPARK, Mrs Adetoun Popoola; General Manager of LASEPA, Dr Tunde Ajayi; and General Manager of LASWMO, Mr Adefemi Afolabi, alongside other senior directors from the ministry and its agencies.
