A Magistrate Court sitting in Ilorin on Friday sentenced 40 persons to a three-month jail term each for violation of the Kwara State Environmental Law.
The defendants, all residents of Ilorin, who were arraigned on different charges ranging from indiscriminate disposal of refuse, encroachment, and illegal scavenging, pleaded guilty to the offences.
Presiding Magistrate Saidu Tunde Abdulkareem sentenced the defendants to three months imprisonment each, with an option of a N50,000 fine, in line with the provisions of Section 5 subsection 1–4 of the State Environmental Law.
Thirty-one of the defendants were arrested for indiscriminate disposal of refuse, while nine were apprehended for illegal scavenging, the court heard.
Speaking on the judgement, the Kwara State Commissioner for Environment and Forestry, Nafisat Buge, who welcomed the development, said the motive behind the continuous enforcement of the environmental law is to curb the outbreak of diseases, flood disasters and other dangers inherent in the indiscriminate dumping of refuse.
The ministry recently inaugurated a 300-man task force to arrest individuals caught breaching environmental standards, particularly improper disposal of waste, encroachment, and illegal scavenging.
“The task force commenced enforcement on Tuesday, and they made some arrests. We have a mobile court here in the ministry that prosecutes them just like what we witnessed today,” she said.
Buge added that the ministry has since been sensitising the public against such practices.
“Before now, the state House of Assembly had enacted a law that prohibits scavenging in the Ilorin metropolis. Their activities have been restricted to a government-designated dump site around the Sokoto Aiyekale expressway,” she further stated.
“For indiscriminate dumping of refuse, we have gone round for physical engagement. We also embarked on media advocacy to sensitise our people to the need to stop indiscriminate dumping of refuse because of the danger inherent in such a habit.”
The commissioner urged residents of Ilorin to always use the Roro bins placed at strategic locations within the metropolis or seek the services of commercial waste collectors, who only charge a token for proper waste management.
She said the exercise would continue for as long as people engage in unlawful dumping of refuse.
“We have done a proper assessment of our drainages, and we realised that the majority of these drainages are blocked as a result of improper dumping of refuse. We are distilling them, but we would not want such an act to continue. That is why we are determined to have a healthier and cleaner environment in the state,” the commissioner added.
