No fewer than 108 persons were arrested across Umuahia on Saturday for trading and loitering during the October edition of the Abia State monthly environmental sanitation exercise.
The offenders were apprehended by a task force team from the Abia State Ministry of Environment and arraigned before the Abia State Mobile Environmental Court sitting in Umuahia.
Out of the total number of offenders, 10 were discharged after presenting valid identification as students, while 2 others were released on medical grounds. The remaining 96 defaulters were convicted and fined by the mobile court presided over by Magistrate Chinenye Ibekwe.
Speaking after monitoring the exercise, the Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Philemon Ogbonna, said maintaining environmental cleanliness is one of Governor Alex Otti’s core priorities in preventing disease outbreaks and safeguarding public health.
“We are committed to ensuring Abia remains clean and healthy. The era of indiscriminate dumping of waste and street trading during sanitation hours is over,” the commissioner stated.
Ogbonna revealed that house-to-house sanitary inspectors have been deployed across the state to enforce cleanliness and environmental compliance among residents and business owners.
He commended the Nigerian Army for participating in the clean-up of the Isi Gate axis of Umuahia, describing their involvement as a morale booster that enhanced the overall success of the exercise.
The Commissioner also disclosed plans to establish a mobile environmental court at Orie Ugba Market, Umuahia North, to prosecute traders who violate sanitation laws and hinder the state’s clean-up initiatives.
“Our goal is to make Abia one of the cleanest states in Nigeria, and this can only be achieved through strict enforcement of environmental laws,” Ogbonna added.
