Nigeria: Illegal dumping: 26 people convicted in Lagos
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
A Magistrate Court, sitting in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State has sentenced 26 persons to community service for dumping waste indiscriminately in different parts of the state.
A Magistrate Court, sitting in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State has sentenced 26 persons to community service for dumping waste indiscriminately in different parts of the state.
Recall that 29 people were earlier sentenced to fines and community service by a magistrate`s court in Oshodi for engaging in indiscriminate waste disposal at different locations in the metropolis.
On the 26 persons convicted, the Environmental Special Offences Court of Lagos State District presided over by Magistrate Mcdavies Amore, also imposed a ₦30,000 fine per person or option of community service for engaging in reckless waste disposal across various locations in the state.
The environmental offenders were arrested by the enforcement team of the Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, in collaboration with the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps, LAGESC, at different locations in the state, disposing of their refuse in unauthorised places, between the hours of 9.30 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Commenting on the judgment, Managing Director, LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said that the ongoing joint enforcement action by the authority had been intensified, in line with the zero-tolerance policy of the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
“The days of insensitivity and disrespect for the environment are over. Anyone caught under any guise will face the wrath of the law. This training is a continuous training,” he said.
Mr. Gbadegesin appeals to residents to support efforts to clean up the environment by avoiding reckless waste disposal, installing trash cans at home, and supporting only certified private participants and PSP operators. , warned that defaulters would have nowhere to hide.
