No fewer than 80 persons were arrested for flouting the sanitation law during the monthly environmental sanitation held on Saturday in Ondo State.
The suspects, who were arrested in different parts of Akure, were said to have contravened the restriction order on human and vehicular movement during the exercise.
Shortly after the exercise, the suspects were arraigned before the state magistrates’ court sitting in Akure for the offence.
In his ruling, Magistrate Taiwo Lebi, found the accused persons guilty and sentenced some of them to a week of community service, while others were fined.
Speaking after monitoring the exercise, the General Manager, Ondo State Waste Management Authority, Mrs Ayo Adeyemo, said the government would leave no stone unturned in its quest for the state to regain its pride of place as one of the cleanest in Nigeria.
According to her, there is a need to observe the monthly exercise so as to keep homes and surroundings clean.
“Over 80 persons were arrested and they were made to face sanctions according to the law of the state. The state government is not taking the cleanliness and the health of the people with levity,” Adeyemo stated.
She expressed the government’s zero tolerance for littering streets and roads with sachets, nylons, beverage cans and snacks wrappers, among others, adding that defaulters would continue to be dealt with.
“It is now compulsory for all commercial drivers and vehicles owners to have waste bins in their vehicles so as to curb the littering of streets and highways,” Adeyemo stressed.
