The Lagos State Government has warned against indiscriminate excavation of Magodo wetlands, saying it portends serious danger to lives and property.
This was contained in a statement on Tuesday by Mr Mukaila Sanusi, spokesman of the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.
Sanusi said the Commissioner in the ministry, Dr Idris Salako, gave the warning when he visited the area on Monday.
Salako said the action was “unwarranted, provocative and contrary to the civic gesture of the state government, which had displayed trust in the Rule of Law in the Magodo land saga”.
He said while the government was making efforts to resettle the Onikosi family in Magodo Scheme III, being created in between Scheme I and II and Omole Estate, the excavation was damaging the environment.
He said the excavation was traumatising innocent citizens because the foundations of some buildings in Magodo GRA were caving in and risked collapse.
“It is unimaginable that any family in Lagos State, noted for unrivalled sense of accommodation and conviviality, will go to this length to inflict pain on others, despite reassurances by the government.”
The commissioner appealled to the community “to henceforth desist from any untoward acts such as the current ill-advised excavation in the estate or face stiff sanctions from the Lagos State Government”.
Meanwhile, Salako also visited Mr Bolaji Omotoso, a resident of Magodo Scheme II, to see the extent of damage to his property, occasioned by the excavation.
He sympathised with the residents and advised them to evacuate the building while proper engineering tests would be carried out to ascertain the level of damage.
He said that it was no longer safe to continue occupying the building as it could cave in with any serious rain.
The commissioner added that the area being excavated had been sealed to arrest the situation.