- Daniel Isiofia, corps marshal of Lagos state Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) says those arrested for breaking sanitation laws were caught right in the act
- Isiofia warns residents to beware of littering their neighbourhood with refuse as the state government sanitation agencies are out to arrest more offenders
- He urges residents to assist the state government in keeping Lagos clean
On Wednesday, January 24, Lagos state government arrested 24 persons including cart pushers, street traders and some residents for dumping refuse on road medians and canals against the environmental sanitation laws of the state.
Offenders like cart pushers, street traders and some residents were arrested for the dumping of refuse on road medians and canals by the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC).
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The suspects, who have been charged before the special offences court sitting in Ogba, Ikeja, were arrested in an early morning operation carried out by men of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) recently created by Akinwunmi Ambode, the state governor.
Daniel Isiofia, LAGESC corps marshal, said the suspects were arrested after the investigation which showed that cart pushers and some residents were throwing refuse at sites not designated for waste disposal and canals. This, according to him, hinders the state government's efforts to keep the state clean.
He said: “Recently, there has been clamour for cleaner Lagos and the Governor has been very keen on making Lagos clean. To this end, he gave us a mandate to ensure that Lagos is kept clean by ensuring that acts that lead to the city to be dirty are curbed.
“We know that there have been massive efforts to clear the backlog of refuse on the road and our men went on surveillance and we eventually discovered where the cart pushers are operating at Ogunlana Street by Ogbomosho in Itire area. We raided the area and saw the cart pushers whose job is to collect refuse on payment from some residents who feel that they cannot dispose their refuse according to government directive and dump on road medians and canals.
“Often times, if you go to the canal at Itire-Ijesha area, you will see the cart pushers dumping refuse into the canal thereby blocking the waterways which leads to flooding. So, with the determination to stop this menace, we raided them at about 4am this morning and we succeeded in impounding 150 waste carts used for this purpose and arrested 11 suspects while others fled.”
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As a retired assistant commissioner of police, Isiofia warned residents to stop dumping refuse around indiscriminately and to refrain from patronising cart pushers who liter localities in the state. He also mentioned that the state government is currently in a mission to arrest those who break sanitation laws.
“We are going to sustain this process. I like to advise the operators of the waste carts to know that Lagos is not a place for them. They should leave Lagos or look for another job and to those who patronize them, if we get them, we will charge them to court because they are running foul of the law.
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“We are appealing to the citizens to know that a clean Lagos is a healthy Lagos. It is for the benefits of all of us for our environment to be clean. Some people see us as enemies but we are not; we are only doing this job for the benefit of all.
Isiofia noted: “We are partners in progress; Lagosians should assist us. Governor Ambode too has pleaded with the people to support the bid to make Lagos clean and we are joining the Governor to appeal to people to desist from indiscriminate dumping of waste and make Lagos a very clean city.”
NAIJ.com reported that the Lagos state government on Saturday, January 13, announced a total ban on the operations of cart pushers and wheel barrow operators in the state, saying that their activities were against the environmental cleanliness in the state.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the secretary to the state government, Tunji Bello, and made available on the official Facebook page of the state government.
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Source: Naija.ng
ROSY CREST
Thursday, 25 January 2018