A2zgist reports that the NupekoTV coverage allegedly exposed discrepancies between the state government’s claims and the actual state of the facility.
Nigerian soldiers on Monday reportedly stormed the Lafiagi Waterworks project site in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State to arrest Comrade Saidu Musa Tsaragi, a journalist representing NupekoTV.
Musa was said to have visited the Waterworks to cover a report on the project, which the Kwara State Commissioner for Water Resources, Usman Yunusa Lade, had earlier claimed to have been completed.
A2zgist reports that the NupekoTV coverage allegedly exposed discrepancies between the state government’s claims and the actual state of the facility.
A source told A2zgist that about 20 armed soldiers arrived at the Waterworks while Musa and his crew were interviewing the president of the Lafiagi Emirate Youth Transparency Association (LEYTA).
“In the middle of the interview, we saw soldiers surrounding the place. They said they came to arrest Comrade Saidu Musa,” the source said. “Residents of the community resisted the move, insisting that he had done nothing wrong.”
A video obtained by SaharaReporters showed several soldiers wielding rifles as heated arguments erupted between them and local residents who questioned the attempted arrest.
Community members condemned the intimidation of journalists and called on the state government to respect press freedom.
They also urged Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to investigate the alleged misuse of security forces to silence citizens exposing irregularities in government projects.
A2zgist previously reported that the Kwara State Commissioner for Water Resources, Usman Yunusa Lade, is facing renewed criticism after revelations that the much-publicised Lafiagi Waterworks project remains incomplete — despite earlier assurances that it had been fully delivered.
In January, Lade publicly announced that the Lafiagi Waterworks was completed and fully operational.
However, last week Saturday during a inspection by a delegation sent by the Kwara State government through the Ministry of Water Resources, the project’s failings were exposed.
In a video obtained by SaharaReporters, the generator meant to power the water plant failed to start for nearly two hours during the officials’ visit.
Witnesses said the team struggled repeatedly to get the machine running, raising questions about the project’s integrity and functionality.
Further investigations revealed that one of the biggest submersible pumps at the facility was not working, contrary to the Commissioner’s public claims.
Residents of Lafiagi have since expressed concerns, asking why the equipment is malfunctioning if the project was truly completed.
Even after the generator was eventually powered, the water pumped from the facility was reportedly insufficient to reach the main reservoir.
However, despite running for nearly six hours, the output could not fill the tank, suggesting deeper technical faults within the system.
The controversy surrounding the Lafiagi Waterworks deepened earlier this year when the Commissioner sued NupekoTV publisher, Tauheed Baruwa Muhammed, for questioning the integrity of the project.
Muhammed was subsequently jailed, a move that sparked public outrage and accusations of attempts to silence dissent.
Residents are now calling for transparency and an independent audit of the waterworks, insisting that the government must account for the funds spent on the project, especially given the repeated claims of completion.
Meanwhile, the Lafiagi Emirate Youth Transparency Association (LEYTA) has dismissed recent claims suggesting that the Lafiagi Waterworks is fully functional, insisting that residents of the Lafiagi metropolis are still without access to clean water.
In a statement released on Saturday, October 25, 2025, after a monitoring visit to the facility, the youth association said its findings revealed that the waterworks is not producing enough water to serve the community due to equipment failure and distribution challenges.
According to LEYTA, only three of the four submersible pumps at the facility are currently operational, while one has completely broken down, reducing the plant’s pumping capacity.
The association noted that although water was pumped continuously for nearly six hours during the inspection, it failed to reach the main reservoir that supplies the town.
The group also identified several areas with faulty reticulation systems, which it said further hindered water distribution to households.
