By Kazeem Waris
No fewer than 134 persons were arrested across the 13 local government areas of Nasarawa State on Saturday for allegedly violating the state’s environmental sanitation laws.
The arrests were made during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, which officials said recorded improved compliance compared with the previous exercise.
The Commissioner for Environment, Solid Minerals and Mining, Dr Margaret Elayo, disclosed this while briefing journalists shortly after the exercise in Lafia.
Representing the commissioner, the General Manager of the Nasarawa State Environmental Protection Agency, Mr Iliya Yusuf-Adeka, said the exercise was largely peaceful and witnessed significant compliance by residents.
She attributed the improvement partly to the absence of widespread violations previously recorded among tricycle operators.
“Today, none of them came out. That is why we have few defaulters, and generally, the exercise was smooth because of massive compliance by the general public,” she said.
Make sanitation a daily habit
Elayo urged residents to go beyond observing environmental sanitation only on designated days, stressing the need to make cleanliness a daily practice.
She particularly appealed to traders and operators of markets and motor parks to clean their surroundings before commencing business activities.
“Market operators and motor parks should sweep their environment and do all necessary cleaning before opening for business. Our environment must be adequately protected for the overall health of us all,” she said.
The commissioner said sustained public participation was necessary to maintain a clean and healthy environment across the state.
26 arraigned in Lafia
Meanwhile, the Chief Prosecuting Officer of the sanitation courts in the state, Dr Abubakar Muhammad, said 26 of those arrested were arraigned before the sanitation court in Lafia.
He disclosed that the total number of persons arrested across the state stood at 134.
“We have a lot of compliance, and when you look at the environment, you can see just a few tricycles are here. About 26 people have been arraigned before this court, and across the 13 local governments, 134 people were arrested for violating sanitation laws,” Muhammad said.
He urged residents to comply with environmental regulations and support government efforts to maintain a clean environment.
Muhammad warned that residents should not wait until sanitation enforcement exercises before complying with environmental laws, stressing that keeping the state clean was a collective responsibility.
He called on individuals, traders, transport operators and other members of the public to maintain proper hygiene and dispose of waste responsibly to safeguard public health.
The authorities said the improved compliance recorded during Saturday’s exercise underscored the importance of continued enforcement and public sensitisation on environmental sanitation.
