No fewer than 189 persons were on Saturday convicted for violating sanitation laws during the environmental sanitation exercise in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

The offenders, who were arrested during the exercise, were convicted by mobile courts placed in different strategic points in the state capital and were made to pay fines of between N500 and N1,000 for the offences.

Minors and students were made to serve other forms of punishment such as sweeping and clearing of debris before they were released.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Malam Isiaka Al-Amin, urged the residents of the state to ensure that they keep their environment clean to prevent diseases.

Al-Amin commended the sanitation officials for ensuring total compliance within the period the exercise lasted.

In his remarks, the Chairman, Kwara State House of Assembly Committee on Environment and Health, Owolabi Rasak, called for total reorientation of the residents with a view to promoting respect for sanitation laws.