Over 200 persons arrested for indiscriminate waste disposal ― Oyo Commissioner

No fewer than 200 people have been arrested in three months for dumping waste in unauthorised places in Oyo State.

Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Dr Idowu Oyeleke who made this disclosure to journalists on Monday, added that about N6 million was generated from the various environmental offenders.

Paraded on Monday, in particular, were 10 persons including a minor arrested for varying degrees of offences that includes indiscriminate dumping of refuse, refusal to provide standard refuse dumps in their premises, obstruction and assault of government officials on duty, failure to register with accredited refuse collector and unregistered persons using vehicles to dump waste in unauthorized places.

Speaking at the Environmental Task Force office, Agodi, Ibadan, Oyeleke also showed to journalists vehicles seized at the point of illegal disposal of refuse across Ibadan.

He said: “The government set up the Task Force to ensure that people comply with all the environmental laws and people are been discouraged and punished for disposing of their waste carelessly, recklessly and indiscriminately.

“On a daily basis, at every hour of the day, people are been arrested for indiscriminate dumping of refuse on road medians or even along the streets.

“As we speak, the Environmental Task Force Tribunal sits every day and some of the people arrested for dumping refuse on road medians are being tried, some have been convicted and vehicles impounded.

“This will continue until our people change their attitude towards dumping refuse in places that are not designated for the purpose.

“We will continue to arrest those who want to sabotage the efforts of the government in achieving a very clean, safe and healthy environment in Oyo State.”

Also speaking, Chairman of the Task Force, Francis Ojomo bemoaned that the state was still grappling with people obeying environmental laws, despite several sensitisation campaigns.

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He identified all strata of the society, whether educated and uneducated people as constantly engaging in indiscriminate dumping of waste and committing other environmental offences.

He, however, vowed that a change of attitude was non-negotiable, asserting that the task force will not relent in arresting and prosecuting offenders.

“It is unfortunate that the ultimate success that we should be proud of has to do with people obeying environmental laws in the state, but that has not been the situation.

“That notwithstanding, in the last three months that we have kickstarted work in Oyo State, we have made over N6million to the coffers of the state government and have arrested and prosecuted over 200 culprits.

“As I said, what we expect that going by the volume of sensitization that has gone into our service, people by now would have changed their ways by complying with the laws that touch on the environment in Oyo state but that is not the situation.

“From close observation, we discovered that all strata of the society both educated and uneducated people, learned or not, are the culprit.

“Change of attitude is what we need in a period like this. And everybody should understand that when we treat our environment, it will have a ripple effect, healthwise, in the areas of economy and all strata of human endeavours will be affected adversely,” Ojomo stated.

Speaking, a member of the Special Task Force on Environment and waste management, Mr Kazeem Bolarinwa, decried that many of the culprits that engaged in the illicit act either did so at dawn or late in the night to avoid been seen.

He vowed that the state government was unrelenting in prosecuting environmental offenders to serve as a deterrent to others.

“What we observed was that the perpetrators dump the refuse in the wee hours of the day using the night as a cover or very early in the morning when movement is still very low. They ensure they are not seen.

“They also know that it is wrong which was why they do it under darkness and that is basically what we have noticed and we will deploy all possible measures including sensitising them, orientating them while also enforcing.

“We will be enforcing because we are aware that it is not everyone that you talk to that would listen to you, some people will have to learn it the hard way, simply be enforcing with the use of the law,” Bolarinwa said.

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Over 200 persons arrested for indiscriminate waste disposal ― Oyo Commissioner