Kwara State Government said it has uncovered an illegal dumpsite in Ilorin, the state capital.
The state government said the illegal dumpsite was discovered along General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport in the metropolis, “where some commercial waste collectors and other residents had been dumping their refuse in violation of the state environmental law”.
State Commissioner for Environment, Nafisat Buge, who led an enforcement team to the area, said the team discovered the site after putting the waste collectors on surveillance.
Hajia Buge said that the team arrested one Police Inspector Adamu Usman attached to the Airport for allegedly aiding and abetting the illegal activity.
“As you can see, we just discovered this illegal dump site that was created by some unidentified people. For instance, we found out that the majority of commercial waste collectors dump their refuse here.
“We have always warned them against mismanaging their waste, and we let them know the penalty involved if any of them are caught”, she said
“Fortunately yesterday, we caught one of them. We traced him from the airport road down to this place around 11 pm. That was how we discovered this massive illegal dump site.
“This place is very dangerous. You can see the dump site is located beside the airport and the Aviation College. A plane just took off now. This place does not meet the criteria for a dump site. We have an approved dump site around Oko Olowo Expressway, Sokoto Aiyekale precisely. But this place is dangerous for the airport and even the dwellers”.
She announced the revocation of the license of the erring waste collector, adding that he would also be made to pay a fine of N250,000.
The commissioner said the state would not relent in its efforts to stop indiscriminate refuse dumping, revealing that no less than 124 offenders have so far been prosecuted.
