Lagos Magistrate Jails 13 Environmental Offenders 3 Months

The enforcement of the reenergized clampdown on illegal refuse disposal in Lagos State has claimed its first set of victims, with thirteen persons arrested, arraigned and convicted by the Magistrate Court sitting in Bolade, Oshodi.

The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, TOKUNBO WAHAB, made this known in a post on his social media handles, detailing the names of the convicts who were arrested for indiscriminate dumping of refuse in violation of the state’s sanitation laws.

WAHAB noted that the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them, following they were convicted and sentenced to three months in prison each.

He gave some of their names as JAMIU ABDULKAREEM, NWOSU MARTIN, ABDULJAMIU WASIU, HABEEB MUHAMMED, KOLAWOLE ELIJAH, ANUM MUSA, and ADENIYI JAMIU.

Others are TAIWO OLANIYI, ALI MUHAMMED, PAUL YAYA, DAMILARE ADEBOWALE, OJO FATAI, and ABAH MUSA.

He said the conviction of the individuals underscored the commitment of the Lagos State Government to enforcing environmental laws and maintaining a clean, safe, and healthy environment for all residents.

However, some concerned citizens who commented on WAHAB’s post on Facebook, including ORESANYA ADEYEMI SAKIRU and OKWUOSA ANTHONY IZU, questioned the three months imprisonment of the environmental sanitation offenders, suggesting instead that they have been sentenced to community service.

Recall that the Lagos State Government, through the Commissioner for Transport, OLUWASEUN OSIYEMI, had over the weekend inaugurated a Special Task Force to stop residents from dumping their waste on road medians and other unathorised locations.

The Special Task Force includes members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN, who are to serve as Special Waste Police.