Environmental sanitation: Warri South prosecutes over 100 defaulters

No fewer than 100 persons in Warri South Local Government Area  (LGA) of Delta were on Saturday prosecuted for violating the state environmental sanitation law.

The  defaulters were arraigned at a mobile court presided over by Mrs Tunde Smooth, the Magistrate of Court 5, Warri South.

The mobile court which sat at the Warri South Council main secretariat convicted no fewer than 50 of the offenders and awarded them various fines depending on the magnitude of their offences.

Others were made to immediately carryout community service as punishment for their offences.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there was restriction of movement between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. to enable residents in Warri participate fully in the monthly exercise.

It would be recalled that Dr. Michael Tidi, Chairman, Warri South, had earlier said that one of his major priorities was to ensure the council remains one of the cleanest, in the state and beyond.

Mr Sylvester Oromoni, Chairman, Delta Task Force on Environment, while addressing newsmen shortly after the monthly exercise, said that the mobile courts would continue to prosecute violators until people learned to obey the state’s environmental laws.

“It is no longer going to be business as usual, as the state government will continue to use all lawful means to ensure that the  state is kept clean,” he said.

Oromoni, however, appealed to the residents of the state to always maintain proper hygiene by way of keeping their environments clean.

Also speaking, the Supervisor for Environment, Warri South, Mr Omawumi Elete, said that Dr. Tidi had given a matching order to ensure the council was kept clean.

According to him, the exercise was a huge success in terms of the level of compliance adding that  violators were arrested on some major roads and markets in Warri metropolis.

“We were able to arrest over 100 defaulters and they were charged to our mobile courts, which imposed some fines on them,” he said.

Elete commended the security agencies and other groups who participated fully during the exercise and urged the public to continue to support the government’s quest to keep the council clean.