No fewer than 80 persons were arrested in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Saturday, for violating the environmental sanitation law in the state.
All the suspects who were arrested at different parts of the state capital, Akure, were charged before a Magistrate Court for contravening the restriction order on human and vehicular movement during the monthly sanitation exercise.
In his ruling, the Magistrate, Mr Taiwo Lebi, found all the accused persons guilty and committed some of them to community service for a week while some were fined.
Speaking after the monthly exercise, the General Manager of the Ondo State Waste Management Authority, Mrs Ayo Adeyemo, confirmed that the offenders were apprehended and sanctioned by the court.
She said the state government would leave no stone unturned in its quest to regain its pride of place as one of the cleanest states in Nigeria.
She also restated the commitment of the state government towards taking punitive actions against residents who violate the state monthly environmental laws to serve as a deterrent to others.
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According to her, there was a need to observe the monthly exercise so as to keep both the home and surroundings clean.
She said: “Over 80 people were arrested and they were made to face the sanctions according to the law of the state. The state government is not taking the cleanliness and the health of the people with levity.”
She expressed the government’s zero-tolerance to littering streets and roads with sachet, nylons, beverage cans, snacks wrappers among others, saying the government would continue to deal with defaulters.
“It is now compulsory for all commercial drivers and vehicles owners to have waste bins in their vehicles so as to curb littering of streets and highways,” Adeyemo stressed.
The chairman, however, expressed satisfaction with the level of cleanliness of the state capital and its environs, urging the people of the state to make cleanliness their way of life.