The Ogun State Waste Management Authority, OGWAMA, has arrested and prosecuted 108 residents in Abeokuta for the indiscriminate dumping of waste products.
The offenders were apprehended while dumping refuse on roadsides, public places and on medians, in different parts of the state capital.
Recall that DAILY POST had reported the piles of trash sitting on major roads and blocking the gutters.
However, the OGWAMA enforcement team arrested the offenders while they were dumping the refuse, an offence against the state’s waste management law.
Speaking on the arrest on Wednesday, the Special Adviser to the Governor on OGWAMA, Farook Akintunde, said the waste offenders have been prosecuted in different customary courts in the state capital and fined to serve as a deterrent to others.
He lamented that despite government efforts at picking up waste from residents’ doorsteps, they are still in the habit of dumping waste in inappropriate places, thereby defacing the aesthetic beauty of the environment and the state capital.
Akintunde said, “Its just unfortunate that we have to go this route to stop some of our people from dumping waste indiscriminately on roadsides and in public places. We have sensitized, appealed and even encouraged them to handover their waste to Waste PSP assigned to their areas for proper waste disposal but to no avail.
“We are determined to continue this exercise until they see the need to stop dumping waste indiscriminately, especially now that the state is wearing a new look in terms of proper waste management.
“Aside from this, dumping waste indiscriminately is not safe, as it can lead to flooding and contaminate ground water during this rainy season, which the state government will not allow” Akintunde warned.
He insisted that the state government through OGWAMA, will not fold its hands and allow a few individuals deface the environment through unlawful environmental practices.
Akintunde urged those still in such habit to stop or get prepared to face the law.
108 Ogun residents arrested, prosecuted for indiscriminate waste disposal
108 Ogun residents arrested, prosecuted for indiscriminate waste disposal
