The Lagos State Government has introduced drones and real-time monitoring technologies to strengthen safety oversight and prevent workplace injuries across all sectors.
The initiative, unveiled at the third Lagos State Occupational Safety and Health Conference (LASOSH), marked a major step toward eliminating occupational hazards through technology, data, and structured supervision.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by Gboyega Akosile, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the announcement followed the governor’s remarks at the conference held at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island.
The summit was organised by the Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC) and focused on improving workplace protection and promoting a proactive safety culture across industries.
The governor noted that the adoption of drones, safety apps, and body cameras with thermal sensors would enable real-time hazard detection and faster response in high-risk zones such as construction, manufacturing, and hospitality.
“The future of safety lies in technology and data. Lagos has taken the lead with the deployment of a safety application that empowers citizens to report hazards in real time, drones for aerial surveillance of high-risk zones, and body cameras equipped with thermal functionalities to support compliance monitoring, enforcement, and emergency response.
“These tools are deliberate investments in predictive governance. They allow us to identify safety issues as they emerge, study trends and patterns, and act proactively rather than reactively. This is how Lagos is setting the pace, using innovation not only to secure today but also to anticipate tomorrow,” the governor said.
Sanwo-Olu said the new measures were aimed at safeguarding workers and ensuring that every Lagos resident returns home safely after a day’s work.
He also inaugurated the Safety First Campaign and unveiled the Occupational Safety Cadre, described as the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to him, the cadre would institutionalize safety management as a professional career path within the Lagos public service, ensuring that workplace protection is managed in a structured and expert-driven manner.
The governor explained that these initiatives formed part of the state’s “predictive governance” strategy, which leverages technology to identify and resolve safety issues before they escalate. He added that the government’s approach, guided by the first-ever Lagos State Safety Policy, had strengthened accountability and significantly reduced workplace incidents across key sectors.
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Through the Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC), Sanwo-Olu noted that the state had implemented result-oriented interventions supported by regular and impromptu inspections to enforce safety standards. He said the establishment of zonal offices across Lagos had also brought safety governance closer to residents, enabling quicker response times and wider sensitisation.
- Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Olugbenga Oyerinde, said the government remained committed to ensuring that every worker operates in a safe environment, adding that effective safety management is vital to Lagos’ industrial growth.
- LSSC Director-General, Dr. Lanre Mojola, said the Commission’s enforcement activities over the past three years had significantly improved compliance in the manufacturing and construction sectors.
- He disclosed that the agency plans to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its operations to enhance predictive analysis of workplace hazards and deepen safety inspections.
Mojola added that the Commission is implementing the Reporting of Injuries, Incidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIIDOR) to strengthen accountability and reporting across workplaces.
He said these measures, combined with the use of drones and digital monitoring systems, would improve early detection of risks and help Lagos achieve its goal of injury-free workplaces.
