Operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps have arrested 17 individuals for various offences ranging from open urination, open defecation, and not using the pedestrian bridge at the Berger axis of the State.
Lagos Commissioner, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab disclosed this in a post on his X handle on Friday, August 30, 2024.
He wrote: “17 individuals were arrested last night at Berger for open urination, defecation and not using the pedestrian bridge.”
The enforcement agency on Thursday arrested 16 individuals in the same axis for open urination, open defecation, and disregard of the pedestrian bridge.
Recall that the Lagos State Government commenced an enforcement exercise to rid the state of open defecation.
Speaking during an advocacy exercise that preceded the enforcement activities, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Gaji Omobolaji said the enforcement action was aimed at preventing the spread of communicable diseases like cholera and diarrhoea in the state.
Gaji accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Olawale Musa and other Directors of the two Ministries said the enforcement team comprising the anti-open defecation squad, Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) and other enforcement agencies would commence operation immediately after the Advocacy/ sensitisation campaign.
He added that the enforcement teams would work in shifts to apprehend and prosecute offenders in accordance with the environmental laws of the state.
The Permanent Secretary said it was appalling and shameful to find people defecating openly and in open places especially on the road and road medians, saying these action were unacceptable and required a lasting solution to totally eradicate the menace.
This, he said was why the state resorted to undertake enforcement and prosecution after the sensitisation exercise.
Gaji maintained that anyone caught will face the full wrath of the law with the hope that it will serve as a deterrent to others and ensure that the fight against open defecation was sustained.
