Community Leaders, CSOs Slam Lagos Over Planned Crackdown On Unlicensed Boreholes

Community Development Associations, a coalition of civil society organisations and residents have criticised the Lagos State government for planning to seal residential boreholes or prosecute residents for extracting groundwater without authorisation.

The planned enforcement of sanctions against privately owned alternative water supply through boreholes by the Lagos State Government had sparked criticism and condemnation amidst its inability to provide pipe borne waters to residents.

From Surulere to Yaba, Shomolu, Bariga, Oba Akran, Ikeja, Mushin, Ebute-Meta, Surulere, Shomolu and Bariga, most homes and corporate bodies are all linked to boreholes since the state government water corporation has not been supplying them with potable water.

Findings by LEADERSHIP Sunday showed that most buildings in Mainland are relying on alternative water supply as a higher percentage of corporate bodies and homes within Lagos depend on self-provided water.

According to reports, the state water corporation is only able to supply 1.03 percent of residents with water.

The Lagos Water Corporation said its water network serves only 34,424 registered households, representing an estimated 1.03 per cent of the state’s 20 million residents.

Speaking with LEADERSHIP Sunday, a resident of Ojodu Berger said, “We only hear but have never seen pipe borne water from Lagos State Water Corporation. We have to rely on our own water from the borehole.”

Another respondent, Comrade Abibat in Bariga said, “Homes and corporate bodies around this area would be forced to patronise privately own water sellers in order to survive if we are not allowed to get our water from the boreholes because water is an essential commodity which cannot be ignored.”

On his part, a shop owner, Abdusalami, within Ikeja, expressed his displeasure over the plan based on the inability of the state government to fill the vacuum.

“If they want to enforce sanctions against drilling of boreholes, they should give us better alternatives because water is part of essential things that state or local governments should provide for the citizens.

‘”Already, most of us are spending thousands of Naira for buying bottled water and sachet water on a weekly basis to complement the water from boreholes,” he said.

It would be recalled that two weeks ago, the Lagos State Government Water Corporation came out with the plan to start implementation of sanctions against borehole owners within the state.

The corporation, through the deputy director, Corporate Affairs and Brand Management, Mr Rasaq Anifowoshe, disclosed in an interview that, “Using an estimated average household size of six persons, the number of residents associated with these connections is 206,444, equivalent to approximately 1.03 per cent of the state’s estimated population of 20 million.”

Anifowoshe disclosed that the corporation had an installed water production capacity of approximately 210 million gallons per day.

This, he said, was against an estimated state’s daily water demand of approximately 540 MGD, as stated in the Lagos State Water Supply Master Plan.

Meanwhile a coalition of civil society organisations, community groups and trade unions led by the chairman, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Adewale Ojo, has warned the Lagos State government against criminalising residents’ daily struggle for water while failing to provide reliable public supply.

The ‘Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition (OWORAC)’, a network comprising over 50 national and regional groups and communities, declared that any attempt by state task forces to seal domestic and residential boreholes will be met with a coordinated mass action across every local government area in Lagos.

The coalition’s pushback follows growing public anxiety sparked by a statement attributed to the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO), Oluwabukola Adeyemo, which warned that drilling boreholes and extracting groundwater without state authorisation is illegal and could attract property sealing and criminal prosecution.

The commission had also announced a dedicated reporting hotline, urging residents and community leaders to blow the whistle on unauthorised drilling and abstraction.

The groups stated that LASWARCO must urgently provide clarity on the scope of its enforcement, noting that its sweeping tone has generated deep confusion and fear across working-class neighbourhoods.

The coalition stressed that any regulatory exercise must start with an absolute and faithful acknowledgement of what the governing statute actually says.

“Under the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law of 2017, the primary legal instrument cited by the regulator, the law explicitly distinguishes between commercial extraction and domestic survival.

“Specifically, Section 253(1) of the law provides that ‘a person may, without obtaining a licence from the Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC), allow, construct, dig or extend any well, borehole or other work in a residential premises for the purpose of abstraction of water supply and to an extent necessary for a supply of water for the domestic purpose of a household.

“This statutory exemption is reinforced under Section 259(2), which makes it clear that licensing requirements apply strictly to commercial and industrial abstractors, stating that the location of a borehole other than those for domestic use shall be authorised by first obtaining the appropriate license.

“By deliberately omitting these statutory exemptions from its public threats and threatening indiscriminate crackdowns, LASWARCO has overstepped its bounds, creating needless panic among already suffering residents, while recklessly encouraging neighbours to turn on one another over water, an essential daily need,” the groups stated.

Rising in its defence, the Lagos State government has refuted viral social media posts and commentaries about the introduction of a “new borehole tax” in the state.

According to the state’s Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, the current exercise which has been termed by some as “a new tax law” is the regulation of borehole drilling and groundwater abstraction in the state.

According to Wahab, the exercise is in line with established environmental and water resource management laws of the state and is not a new creation.

He emphasised that section 312 (1) XVII of the Environmental Management Protection Law (EMPL) 2017 empowers Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LAWRECO) to regulate indiscriminate borehole drilling activities across the state.

He explained that groundwater regulation is a globally accepted practice aimed at protecting water resources, preventing contamination, mitigating land subsidence, and ensuring long-term water security.

The Commissioner said towards this end, the agency responsible for regulating groundwater in the state, the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO) has stepped up the regulation of compliance with existing permit requirements across the state.

He said the state government acknowledges the challenges many residents face regarding access to potable water and remains committed to continued investment in water infrastructure to expand public water supply across Lagos.