Illegal waste contractor apprehended, punished by Kwara State Government

By Tunde Odugbemi

The Kwara State Government has prosecuted an environmental defaulter, one Mr. Jimoh Atolagbe of Number 33, Ile Olopin, Opomalu, Ilorin, for contravening  the law on environmental sanitation.

Atolagbe contravened Section 18 (1) A of the  Public Health and Environmental Sanitation Law N0.5 of 2004 section 4 and 5 (4).

He was caught in the act by the state Commissioner for Environment, Abosede Olaitan Buraimoh and her team, while dumping the refuse of decayed peels of different fruits indiscriminately during the week, along the major road side of Harmony Estate road Ilorin, thereby constituting nuisance as well as veritable source of germs.

The Commissioner, in company of the Director of Personnel, Finance and Supply, Pastor Adeniran Adebara and the Director of Environment, Mr Towoju Gabriel, while on monitoring and inspection exercise round  the Ilorin metropolis sighted the nuisance and frowned at the act despite steps taken to curb such act in the state.

As part of the offence committed by the defaulter, he failed to register with the Kwara State Environmental Protection Agency (KWEPA),  an agency under the Ministry of Environment, as a commercial waste contractor indicating that he is an illegal operator, hence aggregated his offences.

The defaulter,  was arraigned in the kwara state judiciary headquarters, Ilorin and sentenced to two weeks in prison or pay a fine of #5,000, making sure that he does not contravene  the environmental sanitation law again.

The Director of Environment, Mr Towoju Gabriel, Deputy Director of Environment, Mrs Mary Mustapha, Health Officers and other management staff of the ministry witnessed the prosecution of the accused person.

Okanlawon Taiwo,

Press Secretary,

Ministry of Environment