Lagos Court Convicts 26 Environmental Offenders

For dumping waste indiscriminately in different parts of the state, 26 persons have been sentenced to community service by a magistrate court sitting in Ikoyi area of the state.

The Environmental Special Offences Court of Lagos State District, presided over by Magistrate Mcdavies Amore also imposed N30,000 fine per person or option of community service, on the 26 persons, for engaging in reckless waste disposal across various locations in the state.

The environmental offenders were arrested by the enforcement team of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), in collaboration with the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), at different locations in the state, disposing of their refuse in unauthorised places, between the hours of 9.30pm and 7.00am.

Commenting on the judgement, the managing director, chief executive officer of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said that the ongoing joint enforcement action by the Authority had been intensified, in line with the zero tolerance policy of the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

“The era of recklessness and disdain for the environment is over. Anyone caught under whatever guise will be made to face the wrath of the law. The exercise is a continuous one,” he said.

He urged residents to support efforts made to sanitise the environment, by shunning acts of reckless waste disposal, having waste receptacles at home, and patronising only accredited PSP operators, warning that there would be no hiding place for defaulters.

It would be recalled that 29 people were earlier sentenced to fines and community service by a magistrate’s court in Oshodi, for engaging in indiscriminate waste disposal, at different locations in the metropolis.