Olusegun Ariyo
Lagos State Government has shut down DONALD Restaurant, a nightlife venue on Road 14 in Lekki Phase 1, for allegedly engaging in illegal waste disposal along Durosimi-Etti Street within the same estate.
Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, made this known after a prompt response by the Lekki Estate Residents Association, LERA, whose security personnel apprehended individuals caught in the act.
Wahab stated that investigations led authorities to trace the implicated vehicle back to DONALD Restaurant, prompting immediate enforcement action.
“A white Ford van with Abuja registration plates GWA 136E was caught indiscriminately discharging waste. The vehicle was traced to DONALD restaurant, a nightlife establishment located on Road 14 within the estate.
‘The suspects were apprehended on the scene by LERA’s Chief Security Officer and taken into custody at the LERA Secretariat. It was reported that the individuals attempted to bribe the security team with N100,000, an offer that was firmly declined,” Wahab said.
In response to the incident, the Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, Mr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, dispatched the agency’s Monitoring and Compliance team to the location for further investigation.
“The team took custody of the suspects and immediately sealed the premises of the DONALD restaurant for gross environmental violations, in breach of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law, 2017,” Wahab disclosed.
Authorities suspect the incident reflects a wider pattern of non-compliance among certain commercial establishments in Lekki Phase 1, who routinely sidestep their waste management responsibilities.
The Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, in collaboration with 428 accredited Private Sector Participation, PSP, operators, oversees daily waste collection across more than 40 designated service routes in the state.
However, despite this organised framework, the agency reports ongoing violations of waste disposal regulations by several businesses.
In a related development, a residential property, Viva Bella Court II, located in Lekki Peninsula, was sealed for discharging untreated wastewater into the drainage system and allowing overfilled septic tanks to spill into the environment.
