LASEPA seals Farms City, others for violating COVID-19 rules

For the second time since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) has, sealed up Farms City on Admiralty Way, Lekki and Ajah Quilox Pool and Bar for contravening different sections of the state environmental law and constituting a setback to the state government’s efforts to flatten the curve of the pandemic.

The enforcement, which was carried out in the late hours of Saturday and early hours of Sunday on the Lekki-Ajah axis, was led by the Special Assistant to the General Manager, Dr Adebola Odunsi, and Director, Enforcement, Compliance and Monitoring, Mr Kayode Bello, wherein two other entertainment and restaurant outlets, Page One in Ajah and Bien Mange in Abraham Adesanya Estate, were also sealed.

While the former was sealed for operating a drinking bar and encouraging large gathering, the latter facility was sealed for illegally converting a residential building for commercial purposes and operating in an unfriendly environment, constituting environmental nuisance to other residents of the area.

Speaking after the enforcement, the General Manager, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, disclosed that the action by the agency was in line with the Environmental Management and Protection Law of 2017, which mandated the agency to work on land, air and water to address environmental violations that could pose a threat to the wellbeing of Lagosians and affect the environmental sustainability drive of the state.

Describing the development at Farms City as unfortunate, Fasawe said: “The agency acted on a tip from a whistleblower, alleging traffic congestion, flagrant disobedience of the environmental laws (public smoking and noise pollution) as well as non-compliance of the COVID-19 safety protocols.

“Upon arrival, the team noticed several infractions and identified same to the management, which led to clearing out the fun seekers and shutting down the facility pending full investigations.”Fasawe enumerated further that all the sealed facilities were caught in the act while disregarding the directive of the governor on the use of facemasks, social gathering and 10p.m. curfew.