Kwara Commissioner Explains Motive Behind Sentencing 40 Residents To Prison for Environmental Violations

Kwara State Commissioner for Environment and Forestry, Hon. Nafisat Buge, has shed light on the recent sentencing of 40 residents to prison for violating environmental laws.

The explanation was detailed in a statement issued by Yakub Kamaldeen Aliagan, the Press Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and made available to EnsuredNews on Friday.

A Magistrate Court in Ilorin, on Friday, sentenced the 40 defendants to three-month prison terms each for breaches of the Kwara State Environmental Law.

The residents, who were found guilty of offenses such as indiscriminate disposal of refuse, encroachment, and illegal scavenging, were given an option to pay a fine of 50,000 naira each, in accordance with Section 5, Subsections 1-4 of the State Environmental Law.

Magistrate Saidu Tunde Abdulkareem presided over the case, where 31 defendants were sentenced for illegal refuse disposal and nine for illegal scavenging. All defendants pleaded guilty to their charges.

In her statement, Commissioner Buge emphasized that the enforcement of environmental laws is crucial for addressing public health risks and preventing environmental hazards such as floods.

She highlighted the motive behind the continuous enforcement of the Environmental Law was to curb the outbreak of diseases, flood disasters, and other dangers inherent in indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry has recently launched a task force dedicated to enforcing environmental regulations. This task force, which began its operations earlier this week, focuses on arresting individuals engaged in improper waste disposal, encroachment, and illegal scavenging.

"The task force commenced enforcement on Tuesday, and they made some arrests. We have a Mobile Court here in the Ministry that prosecutes them just like what we witnessed today,” she said.

Buge added that the Ministry has since been sensitizing the public against such practices.

"Before now, the state House of Assembly had enacted a law that prohibits scavenging in the Ilorin metropolis. Their activities have been restricted to a government designated dump site around the Sokoto Aiyekale expressway،" she said.

"For indiscriminate dumping of refuse, we have gone round for physical engagement. We also embarked on media advocacy to sensitize our people on the need to stop indiscriminate dumping of refuse because of the danger inherent in such a habit."

The Commissioner urged residents of Ilorin to always use the roro bins placed at strategic locations within the metropolis or seek the services of commercial waste collectors, who only charge a token for proper waste management.

She said this exercise will continue for as long as people engage in unlawful dumping of refuse.

"We have done a proper assessment of our drainages, and we realized that the majority of these drainages are blocked as a result of improper dumping of refuse. We are disilting them, but we wouldn't want such an act to continue. That is why we are determined to have a healthier and cleaner environment in the state,” she added.