In a concerted effort to enforce compliance with the Abia State government’s environmental sanitation directive, 110 individuals were arrested on Saturday in Umuahia and its surrounding areas.
These arrests were made during the mandatory environmental sanitation hours, during which the state government had restricted movement.
The defaulters were apprehended on the roads and in business premises and subsequently taken to a mobile court sitting at the Abia State High Court. The Presiding Magistrate, Onyinyechi Chinenye Ibekwe, delivered varying judgments based on Abia State’s Basic Environmental Law. Some offenders were fined, while others were released on health grounds. Additionally, several defaulters were handed over to officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) for non-custodial penalties such as environmental cleaning and grass cutting, after which they were allowed to go.
Speaking after the November sanitation exercise, Abia State Commissioner for Environment, Philemon Ogbonna, commended the level of compliance but expressed dissatisfaction with the persistent poor conduct of traders at the Orie Ugba market. He criticized their tendency to litter the market environment, even on sanitation days.
Ogbonna pledged that his ministry would collaborate with the Umuahia North Local Government Area and the Abia State House of Assembly Committee on Environment to sustain the state’s Clean Environment Initiative championed by Governor Alex Otti.
Similarly, Smart Ihuoma, Chairman of Umuahia North LGA, expressed deep concern over the unhygienic and deteriorating structural conditions at Orie Ugba and Isi Gate areas. He emphasized the need for immediate intervention and assured that the council would prioritize public health over revenue generation.
“Revenue is not more important than the lives of the people,” Ihuoma declared, highlighting the administration’s commitment to ensuring a healthier environment for residents.
Be the first to comment