By Uche Anita Chukwuma
Delta State laws regulating open urination and defecation in public places and keeping residential and company premises clean have become forceful in the state as delta State Ministry of environment on Wednesday swooped on defaulters and arrested 12 persons.
The persons arrested both males and females were driven in prepared buses, which chauffeured them to the State Magistrate Court along Ibusa road in Asaba for prosecution.
The team, which comprised enforcement officials from the State Ministry of Environment, Delta State Taskforce on Environment and Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency, was led by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. (Mrs.) Minnie Oseji.
The team, which combed greater parts of Asaba, arrested persons found urinating in public places and staff of organisations’ premises which were left unkempt and untidy, despite repeated warnings from the Ministry’s authorities.
Our correspondent reports that notices were sent to firms across the city with warnings that failure to comply after a specific period of time, defaulters will be prosecuted in line with the environmental sanitation laws.
The enforcement, which swept across the capital city saw some of the culprits paying the prescribed failure fees for non-compliance immediately they were picked up by the enforcement team.
Addressing reporters in front of Rumfy Hotels, one of the hotels which reportedly violated the environmental laws, Dr. Oseji said the enforcement exercise was a collaboration between the Ministry of Environment, the State Taskforce on Environment and the Capital Territory Development Agency.
She said notices were sent to companies, hotels and others to keep their environment clean but many ignored the notice. According to her, they were also given notice to pay the prescribed fees having failed to comply but many also failed with the gentle notices.
Following their refusal to keep their environment clean and also failure to pay prescribed penalty fees, Dr. Oseji said it became imperative to enforce the law with arrests and prosecution of defaulters.
She said there are several penalty fees for defaulters ranging from N5000 to N20000 for individuals and N100,000 for corporate bodies. She said the publication was made in The Pointer of February 11th, 2022, with categories of offenses and penalties listed.
The Permanent Secretary said no one should claim ignorance and hide under that to violate environmental sanitation laws. She said the fees are paid into government accounts for purposes of accountability and transparency.
She said ignorance will never be accepted but added that the greatest form of sensitisation is enforcement, noting that when one person is arrested and prosecuted, it will send the signal to others.
Some of the organisations which the team swooped on are Rhodez Hotel, Animal Care, Pentagon Plastic Industries, Rumfy Hotels, and individuals seen urinating in public places.
A total of 12 offenders were arrested by the Taskforce. Eleven paid their various fines into the state IGR account while one who was unable to pay for his fine was sentenced to 7 hours community service which he did at the court premises.
