A 32-year-old man, Abubakar Sanni, a cart pusher, has been jailed for three months by a mobile court in Lagos over environmental offence.
This is contained in a statement by the Managing Director of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Mr Ibrahim Odumboni, on Saturday in Lagos.
Odumboni said that Magistrate T. Fashina handed down the jail sentence to Sanni, who posed under the guise of cart pushing to vandalise and steal iron rods at Karim Kotun area of Victoria Island, Lagos.
“The Authority wants to make it clear that cart pushing remains outlawed in the state.
“The menace of cart pushers has led to the rise of indiscriminate waste disposal coupled with the fact that criminal elements now hide under it to perpetuate their crimes,” Odumboni said.
He noted that since the inception of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration, the authority had introduced various programmes and initiatives aimed at making Lagos cleaner and livable for all.
Odumboni added that LAWMA had also empowered Private Sector Participants (PSP) operators, to effectively discharge their statutory duties.
He said that one of such gestures was absorbing many of the outlawed cart pushers into the business of recycling.
“However, this magnanimous gesture of government shouldn’t be taken for granted,” he stated.
The LAWMA boss reminded the general public of the current offensive on all forms of environmental infractions.
He added that the agency would not fold its hands and watch some people destroy efforts targeted at making the environment in the state a sustainably cleaner one.
Odumboni warned that anyone caught contravening the environmental laws of the state would face the full wrath of the law.
“Our enforcement team has been repositioned to monitor the environment across the metropolis and ensure that environmental defaulters are arrested and prosecuted.
“Currently, some offenders have been arrested and prosecuted for various infractions.
“This will serve as a deterrent to those bent on eroding the recent gains made on environment,” he said.
Odumboni appealed to Lagos residents to be environmentally friendly.
He urged residents to embrace the culture of bagging and containerising their waste, and patronising assigned PSP operators instead of cart pushers.
Odumboni said that cart pushers engage in indiscriminate dumping of refuse at road medians, canals and other unauthorised locations.
Residents were also admonished to call LAWMA toll-free lines 07080601020 and 617, for all complaints and inquiries on waste management related matters in their area.
(NAN)
