As reported by The Punch, the Kwara State government revealed on Sunday that over 400 residents were arrested, arraigned, and fined for violating the law during Saturday’s statewide environmental sanitation exercise.

According to a statement issued by Kamaldeen Aliagan, the Press Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, the offenders were apprehended by the state Environmental Sanitation Task Force and subsequently taken before mobile courts where they were convicted and fined.

The statement further quoted the Commissioner for Environment, Hajia Nafisat Buge, who led the exercise, as describing it as largely successful.

“The exercise was successful because there is an improvement in the level of compliance. We, therefore, call for more adherence to the environmental laws because it is in the best interest of the people,” Buge said.

She disclosed the arrested environmental offenders were arraigned before 17 mobile courts strategically positioned across the metropolis.

“The good aspect is that none of the offenders can feign ignorance of today’s sanitation exercise, as enough sensitisation was carried out by the ministry on radio, newspapers and online. It is obvious they willfully flouted the laws and so they were made to face the full wrath of law, to serve as a deterrent to others,” she added.

The commissioner stressed that the monthly environmental sanitation was “in line with the state Environmental Sanitation law in Section 29 (2) CAP E4 of 2006, which stipulates that the hours of sanitation is from 7 o’clock to 10 o’clock in the morning.”

She stressed that the move was necessary to ensure the total eradication of indiscriminate dumping of refuse and forestall the outbreak of diseases.