A magistrate’s court, Environmental Special Offences Court of Lagos State District, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has imposed N30,000 fine or option of community service each, on 26 persons for engaging in reckless waste disposal across various locations in the state.
The environmental offenders were arrested by the enforcement team of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), in collaboration with the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), at different locations in the state, disposing of their refuse in unauthorised places, between the hours 9:30pm and 7 am.
LAWMA’s Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin said that the ongoing joint enforcement action by the authority had been intensified, in line with the zero tolerance policy of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration.
“The era of recklessness and disdain for the environment is over. Anyone caught under whatever guise will be made to face the wrath of the law. The exercise is a continuous one”, he said.
He urged residents to support efforts made to sanitise the environment, by shunning acts of reckless waste disposal, having waste receptacles at home, and patronising only accredited Private Sector Partnership (PSP) operators, warning that there would be no hiding place for defaulters.
Earlier, 29 people were sentenced to fines and community service by a magistrate’s court in Oshodi, for engaging in indiscriminate waste disposal, at different locations in the metropolis.
