Residents allege harassment
A total of 78 alleged environmental sanitation offenders were on Saturday arrested by a team made of environmental health officers, policemen, and personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Some arrested persons however alleged that sanitation officials in Oredo local government area of the State harassed and intimidated them.
They explained that they were manhandled, beaten, and left with injuries before being taken to the mobile court sitting at Urokpota Hall.
Some offenders were convicted and fined ₦5,000 fine or three hours of community service by the presiding magistrate.
Others, mainly minors and those found not guilty of any offence, were cautioned and subsequently released.
One of the victims, Mrs. Violet Akhere, said she was traveling to Esan after receiving news of her father’s passing the previous day when she was assaulted and dragged into an enforcement bus by those she called thugs.
Her husband, Desmond Akhere, reportedly sustained a deep cut on his nose during the altercation.
“They stopped me at the Benin Airport second gate. They didn’t even ask who I was or where I was going. They just stopped and bundled me into the bus. If you want to arrest somebody, aren’t you supposed to identify yourself and explain the offence committed? Why does Oredo local government choose to use thugs to harass people?” he lamented.
Mrs Akhere explained that she was traveling with three bags, “and they pushed everything into the bus while I was being dragged on the ground by those boys. Now, I can’t find my bags anymore. Look at my husband he has injuries on his nose.”
For her part, 27-year-old Esohe Aigbe also accused the officers of extortion, brutality, and harassment.
Aigbe said she was picked up at her home near Ogba Zoo while trying to intervene in a situation involving a young boy who was being pursued by the enforcement team.
“I was arrested at my home because they were chasing a small boy who was trying to open his mother’s shop. The boy ran into our house, and they followed him inside. When I tried to tell them to leave the small boy alone, they started fighting me in my own house. That was how they arrested me and brought me to court.”
Esohe was later released by the magistrate after narrating her story in court.
When contacted, the Director of Environmental Health Services, Oredo local government council, Mrs. Blessing Ehiator, acknowledged that similar incidents had occurred during past exercises and added that those involved were not official from the Council.
She advised members of the public to be vigilant and identify genuine enforcement officers by their gate passes.
“We had an experience like that the last time, where many people were robbed of their money and phones, and some were even brought to the Oredo local government Council Secretariat before being dumped.
“That is why we now issue gate passes to those working with us. We want to educate the public that some of those involved are not part of our team. If anybody comes to you without a gate pass, know that the person is not working with us. We don’t want anybody to fall victim,” she said.
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