An Ogun Magistrates’ Court sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta, on Friday sentenced eight persons to community service for indiscriminate disposal of waste in different parts of the state capital.
The offenders were convicted after pleading guilty to two-count charges bordering on illegal waste dumping and conduct prejudicial to public health, contrary to the Public Health Law of Ogun State, 2006, and Section 34(1) of the Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAMA) Law, 2020.
The prosecutor, Sanitarian Kehinde Ogunsola, Medical Officer of Health, OGWAMA, told the court that the convicts were arrested between 6:15 a.m. and 8:05 a.m. while dumping refuse on public roads at Isale-Igbein, Car Wash and Abiola Way in Abeokuta.
Ogunsola said the indiscriminate dumping emitted offensive odours, attracted flies and created conditions capable of spreading cholera, while also contributing to flooding that endangered lives and property.
Delivering judgment, Magistrate A.K. Araba found the eight offenders guilty and sentenced them to community service within the premises of the Isabo Magistrates’ Court.
The convicts are Oyebanjo Abidemi, Aminat Adewusi, Aminat Olarewaju, Omolana Olusola, Abiola Moridiya, Olaogun Mary, Abiodun Aromokun and Iwenya Sylvester.
The magistrate also ordered that photographs of the convicts carrying out the community service be displayed on the court’s notice board, warning that any repeat offender would face imprisonment without the option of a fine.
Reacting to the judgment, the Special Adviser to the Governor and Managing Director of OGWAMA, Farouk Adeniyi Akintunde, commended the judiciary for supporting the enforcement of the state’s environmental laws.
Akintunde said the authority would intensify enforcement activities across the state to curb indiscriminate waste disposal and protect public health and the environment.
He urged residents to patronise accredited waste managers operating in their areas and desist from dumping refuse on roads and other public places, warning that violators would be prosecuted.
