The Edo State government says it has stepped up the enforcement of sanitary laws across the state.
The Edo State Commissioner for Environment, Reginald Okun, noted on Monday that government would arrest and prosecute anyone who violates the sanitary laws.
Speaking shortly after sealing up a building at Lagos Street in Benin City, the state capital, Okun stated that government was concerned about the health of its citizens.
He said, “We sealed up the building because it’s a commercial building where wastes from their toilets, kitchen and so on are channeled into the public drains.
“Health and safety for this government is paramount; we don’t want a situation where there will be an outbreak of diseases and so on, so we had to shut down the place.”
The commissioner cautioned also residents against indiscriminate waste disposal and asked them to seek government’s approval before taking any action.
“We are warning people to at least get the proper way of disposing their waste from their houses and not to channel anything into the government drains.
“And if anything needs to be done, then proper permission needs to be taken from the ministry before doing anything like that and again, we are going to prosecute anybody who we find wanting in this area,” he said.
