20 jailed in Ekiti for sanitation offence

A  mobile court has sentenced at least 20 people in Ado-Ekiti for sanitation offences after they failed to take part in routine environment sanitation. A statement by the Ministry of Information on Monday said the people were arrested by the state environmental sanitation officers for indiscriminate dumping of refuse and disregard for the official restriction […]

A  mobile court has sentenced at least 20 people in Ado-Ekiti for sanitation offences after they failed to take part in routine environment sanitation.

A statement by the Ministry of Information on Monday said the people were arrested by the state environmental sanitation officers for indiscriminate dumping of refuse and disregard for the official restriction of movement during the exercise.

The presiding magistrate of the mobile court, Modupe Afeniforo who sent the convicts to prison terms ranging from one to two months, however, gave them options of fine between N3,000 and N5,000 in lieu of the prison sentences.

Afeniforo noted that the sentences would not only serve as punishment but also as a deterrent to people that might be tempted to commit similar offences.

Reacting to the development, the Commissioner for Environment, Bisi Kolawole warned that government would continue to prosecute anybody caught flouting environmental and sanitation laws in the state.

Stressing the need for residents to take care of their environment in order to prevent flooding and avoidable outbreak of epidemic, Kolawole noted the usually devastating effect of flooding and called on the people not to allow anybody to indiscriminately dump refuse in the waterways or do anything that would block canals in the state.