Kwara: 21 environmental offenders convicted,12 others awaiting trial

Twenty-one environmental offenders have been convicted by a mobile court set up by the Kwara State government to enforce the new law announced by the government.

Twelve others are awaiting trial by the mobile court since enforcement commenced on Wednesday in Ilorin, the state capital.

Director of Environment, in the state, Mrs Mary Mustapha, disclosed to DAILY POST that the convicts were fined between N2,000 and N10,000respectively.

The spokesman of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, Ayoola Michael Shola, confirmed that those arrested during the enforcement were brought to the NSCDC facility before being conveyed to the Ministry of Environment where the mobile court is housed.

The twelve others awaiting trial were seen being matched before the mobile court within the ministry at the time of this report.

The state government on Monday, inaugurated a 300-man surveillance taskforce to check indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the Ilorin metropolis of the state capital.

The State Commissioner for the Ministry of Environment, Hajia Nafisat Musa Buge, said during the official inauguration of the environmental task force held at the ministry’s conference hall, in Ilorin, that “indiscriminate dumping of refuse is a general phenomenon that requires urgent attention, most especially in Ilorin metropolis.

“The only solution to eradicate it is to aggressively commence a rethinking of sustainable waste management by the government and sensitize the people on the dangers inherent in dumping refuse indiscriminately.”

The commissioner emphasized that members of the public must cooperate with the government and its agencies to find a lasting solution to the problem to forestall the outbreak of diseases, especially cholera, which is already ravaging some states in the country.

The new strategies listed to be employed by the ministry to permanently eradicate indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the state include, “It is illegal to dump refuse on road medians, road dividers, roundabouts, gutters, drainage channels, and waterways.

The new strategies also forbid anybody displaying wares/goods beyond the gutter on the roadsides for trading activities and will be penalized if caught in the act.

While administering the oath of allegiance to members of the task force, Chief Magistrate Ibrahim Dansuki stressed the need for the committee to adhere strictly to environmental laws to avoid litigations.