Man bags 13 months community service for dumping waste illegally

A Special Offences Mobile Court in Oshodi, Lagos, on Monday sentenced a 48-year-old man, Makinde Rasaq, to 13 months of community service at Kirikiri for illegal waste disposal. Rasaq was arrested last week on Lagos Island while driving a Honda SUV filled with refuse. Facing a seven-count charge, the accused pleaded guilty to all the […]

A Special Offences Mobile Court in Oshodi, Lagos, on Monday sentenced a 48-year-old man, Makinde Rasaq, to 13 months of community service at Kirikiri for illegal waste disposal.

Rasaq was arrested last week on Lagos Island while driving a Honda SUV filled with refuse.

Facing a seven-count charge, the accused pleaded guilty to all the counts.

He was subsequently sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment with the option of community service for all offences totaling 13 months to be served at Kirikiri.

The charges were breach of peace, indiscriminate dumping of waste, failure to patronise Private Sector Partnership (PSP) operators, illegal transportation of waste without a valid license and obstruction of officers in the course of their duty.

The convict, who was caught in the act of illegally dumping refuse on Saturday night at the Tinubu Fountain in Central Lagos, was suspected to be part of a syndicate deliberately dumping waste across the state to create a false narrative that Lagos is dirty.

Following his arrest, Rasaq was handed over to Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) officers for arraignment.

Reacting to the conviction, the Managing Director of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said the judgment served as a clear declaration of the state’s zero-tolerance policy towards indiscriminate waste disposal.