The Lagos State Government has clarified that residents are free to move around during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise.
The government says anyone arrested solely for moving around during the sanitation exercise has been unlawfully detained, maintaining that such arrests do not reflect its policy.
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 asked about the fine for moving during the sanitation exercise and alleged that someone had been arrested and taken to the Ikeja Police Station.
According to Wahab, any arrest based only on movement during the sanitation exercise does not represent the position of the state government.
He said there is no restriction on movement during the monthly exercise and urged anyone affected by such an arrest to report the incident.
The commissioner explained that the monthly environmental sanitation exercise was reintroduced to restore and strengthen the culture of environmental cleanliness across Lagos.
He noted that while 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.
Wahab added that the government’s focus is on encouraging Lagos residents to embrace environmental sanitation as a civic responsibility and a shared commitment to keeping the state clean, healthy and sustainable, rather than relying on enforcement measures.
