
(Refuse dumpsite. Photo Credit: Premium Times)
The Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps has extracted four nursing mothers and their infants from an illegal dumpsite along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway following a discovery that shocked operational teams.
The rescue unfolded on Monday as part of an ongoing multi-agency environmental remediation effort targeting unauthorised waste deposits, makeshift settlements and regulatory violations along the corridor.
Corps Marshal Olaniyi Cole disclosed that operatives encountered mothers residing in degrading conditions with their young children.
One rescued infant was merely nine days old, having spent its earliest days in an environment marked by refuse accumulation, compromised air quality and severe resource scarcity.
The rescued women Fareedat Muyideen, 23, from Kwara State with a two-year-old; Ayomide Ayomoke, 25, from Ondo State with a 10-month-old; Amanda Oziema Abalihi, 20, from Anambra State with her nine-day-old child; and Chisom Ugo, 24, from Imo State with an 11-month-old were extracted due to health and safety imperatives.
The women and children received medical assessment before authorities initiated processes for family reunification or referral to welfare organisations.
Cole stated that while the corridor cleanup has progressed successfully over weeks, the presence of vulnerable families in these circumstances necessitated immediate intervention and care provision.
The Corps Marshal appealed to relatives seeking the women to contact appropriate authorities and urged parents and guardians to prioritise child welfare, cautioning that neglect or mistreatment could result in legal consequences.
LAGESC is collaborating with government and humanitarian bodies to facilitate rehabilitation and social reintegration of the rescued families.