Oyo prosecutes 31 environmental offenders

Governor Seyi Makinde packing refuse

Governor Seyi Makinde packing refuse

Governor Seyi Makinde packing refuse

By Gbenro Adesina

Oyo State Commissioner for Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Kehinde Ayoola has revealed that 30 persons arrested in various locations in Ibadan for violating environmental laws of the state have been arraigned before a Magistrate Court sitting in Ibadan.

Ayoola, who revealed this in a statement made available to the media, stated that the violators of the environmental law were nabbed for indiscriminate dumping of refuse at unauthorized places within Ibadan metropolis.

Pleading guilty, the Magistrate ruled that the offenders be imprisoned for six months or pay a fine of N12, 500 each.

It was gathered that out of the 30 persons arraigned, 21 fulfilled bail conditions and were set free, while nine who failed to meet the terms were forced to do community services.

Speaking further, Ayoola buttressed that the arraignment is a further proof of Oyo State Government’s determination to end menace caused by unlawful disposal of refuse.

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“When we said we would fight this menace to a stop, and put saboteurs to a halt, we meant business. This is why the State Government, under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde has deployed its whole apparatus to enforce the law on environmental sanitation in the state.

“We believe this will serve as deterrent to other violators of the State Environmental Laws and send a message that it is no longer a business as usual. We have to change our orientation as regards good environment for the sake of ourselves and our neighbors. Governor Makinde is so passionate about the cleanliness of our environment and this is the reason why our officers would not hesitate to clampdown on all violators of environmental laws”, he said.

The Commissioner, therefore, urged members of the public to desist from unlawful disposal of refuse, saying that the state government had deployed its officers in strategic places in the state to apprehend offenders.

In a related development, a middle-aged man, identified as Mutiu Odeniran caught offloading his van full of refuse by the roadside has been fined N42, 500 for violating the Environmental laws of the state.

Odeniran was apprehended at Molete axis of Ibadan by the Environmental Health officers last Wednesday December 4, 2019.

 

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