About 13 residents of Sango in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State have been sanctioned for violating the state environmental law.
The team leader, State Environmental Task Force, Mr Owolabi Oduntan, during a special sanitation enforcement exercise to the area, said five residents were arrested between 8PM and early hours of the day while eight others had since been detained for disposing refuse on the median
Oduntan said it was unfortunate that in spite of the series of enlightenment programmes and enforcement campaigns by government against indiscriminate dumping of refuse on road medians across the state, some residents have remained defiant to government directives.
He said that the offenders who had been handed over to Local Government Authorities for necessary prosecution in the court of law, were liable to pay fines from 5,000 naira upwards.
The Director, Water and Environmental Sanitation (WES), Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government, Mr Isiaka Onifade noted that Sango-Otta has become notorious for incessant disposal of refuse on road medians, saying it was regrettable that residents had become over-dependent on the state and local governments for their refuse disposal.
He advised residents to embrace the Private Sector Participation (PSPs) for prompt disposal of refuse and should always remember to put their refuse by the road side as directed by the state government.
One of the residents of the area, Mr Jacob Ogunsanya, however, said that government should provide more trucks to cater for the large amount of refuse being generated in the area.
