Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has urged residents of Lagos to ignore any restriction of movement during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, insisting there is no law backing such enforcement.
The Lagos State government had earlier announced that the sanitation exercise would hold on Saturday, April 25, between 6:30am and 8:30am, asking residents to remain indoors and clean their surroundings.
State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said no court ruling had cancelled the exercise, adding that the Court of Appeal had upheld the legality of laws guiding environmental sanitation enforcement.
However, Falana maintained that residents are free to go about their lawful activities, saying the government had not officially reintroduced compulsory movement restrictions.
According to him, participation in the sanitation exercise is voluntary, not mandatory.
He noted that while residents should support environmental cleanliness and cooperate with waste management officials, the government cannot continue what he described as a military-era policy of restricting citizens’ movement.
Falana also pointed out that the state had already allocated ₦236 billion in its 2026 budget for waste management, drainage expansion, and environmental protection.
