Lagos Island drains turned into sewage channels, raising cholera fears, investigation finds

Public drains in several parts of Lagos Island are being used to carry raw sewage, exposing residents and traders to cholera and other deadly diseases, according to an investigation by Premium Times.

Reporters found homes and businesses discharging wastewater and toilet waste straight into the gutters on Braimoh-Igbo Street in Itafaji, Obe Street, Alli Street, Massey Street, Kakawa Street, Okepopo Street, Isale Gangan Street, Adeniji Adele and around Tinubu Square. In some places, drains run underneath buildings and come out further down carrying dark, foul-smelling water.

A trader at Tinubu Square told the newspaper that all the toilets in the market were connected to the drainage. A nurse living on Braimoh-Igbo Street said she had sent her children to stay with relatives in Akwa Ibom because of the conditions.

Health experts warn that open sewage can spread cholera, typhoid, dysentery and hepatitis A, especially when drains overflow during floods. In 2024, Lagos recorded about half of all cholera cases in Nigeria, many of them on Lagos Island.

Lagos State law bans building over drains and releasing untreated waste into them. The state's wastewater management office said it uses inspections, fines, disconnections and prosecutions against offenders, blaming dense buildings and a high water table. The Commissioner for Environment, Tokunbo Wahab, and the Lagos waste and building control agencies did not reply to requests for comment.