The Lagos State Government has demolished 17 houses in the Lekki area, saying the affected structures encroached on the right-of-way (RoW) of the Ikota River alignment.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, led a monitoring team alongside journalists to the site on Saturday.
He urged residents to desist from actions that destroy the ecosystem, saying nature would always retaliate against human negligence and unlawful reclamation.
The commissioner said the ministry had received complaints months ago about illegal reclamation activities, which could narrow the river’s RoW.
Wahab said: “We stopped them then, but we were alerted again recently that the encroachment had resumed aggressively, with attempts to sell to unsuspecting buyers.”
According to him, the ministry has now taken firm action to stop the encroachment and remove all illegal structures within the area.
He vowed that those behind the activity would be identified and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
On flooding, Wahab said it is impossible to completely prevent flooding in a coastal State such as Lagos, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, lagoons, and rivers.
“What we can do is mitigate its impact through resilient infrastructure, which Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has continued to provide and maintain,” he added.