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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Crime & Justice

Abia arrests 109-year-old seller, 65 others for sanitation breaches

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Abia State authorities arrested 66 individuals, including a 109-year-old akara seller, for violating environmental sanitation rules.
  • Seven individuals were released due to health or student status, while nine were assigned community service, with the elderly seller discharged without penalty.
  • Officials expressed concern over low compliance, warning of potential forceful enforcement to reverse declining progress in waste management.

Abia State authorities arrested 66 people, including a 109-year-old akara seller, for failing to comply with the monthly environmental sanitation exercise. The state government warned that it might resort to forceful enforcement due to low compliance.

Seven individuals were discharged for health and student-related reasons, while nine were assigned community service. The elderly woman, Ma Chidinma Eluwa, who sells akara on Owerri Road, was discharged without a fine and assured authorities of future compliance.

brute force may now be unavoidable.

— Mrs. Happiness AkpulonuRepresenting the Commissioner for Environment, Mrs. Happiness Akpulonu, stated the potential need for forceful enforcement of sanitation rules.

Environmental officials lamented that the poor turnout was reversing years of progress, leaving markets buried under refuse. Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Philemon Ogbonna, represented by Mrs. Happiness Akpulonu, stated that "brute force" might be unavoidable. He blamed months without sanitation activities for creating waste piles, particularly in Orie Ugba Market and other major markets.

We were overwhelmed today. My team could not clear all the refuse we were meant to clear. Residents in Umuahia especially respond better to enforcement than advice. We may have to stop advising them and start enforcing compliance.

— Mr. Philemon OgbonnaThe Commissioner for Environment explained the challenges faced during the sanitation exercise and the potential shift towards enforcement.

"We were overwhelmed today. My team could not clear all the refuse we were meant to clear. Residents in Umuahia especially respond better to enforcement than advice. We may have to stop advising them and start enforcing compliance," Ogbonna said. He urged local government chairmen to mobilize their people and strengthen supervision.

Hon. Kalu Mba-Nwoke, Chairman of the House Committee on Environment, attributed the poor compliance to three months of inactivity. He stressed that environmental sanitation must be continuous and a daily responsibility, not just on declared days. He also called for attention to drainage cleaning in specific areas.

Environmental sanitation must be continuous. Even without government directives, we should clean our surroundings because it is our duty.

— Hon. Kalu Mba-NwokeThe Chairman of the House Committee on Environment emphasized the need for continuous cleanliness beyond designated sanitation days.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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