The Oyo State Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Task Force has arrested five individuals for illegally dumping refuse on the road median within Ibadan metropolis.
The offenders Waheed Nafisat, Alakinde Nafisat, Olaebube Miracle, Ismail Adeola, and Babatunde Adebesin were apprehended around 5:00 a.m. during an early morning environmental monitoring exercise carried out by the Ministry’s enforcement team.
The culprits were immediately arraigned before the Mobile Environmental Court seated within the Ministry’s premises for violating the Oyo State Environmental Sanitation and Waste Management Regulation.
Presiding over the matter, Justice Agbefarin ruled that the act of indiscriminate refuse dumping constitutes a serious offence under the Oyo State Environmental Sanitation Law, 2013 (as amended), particularly Sections 4 and 6, which prohibit the disposal of waste in unauthorized places such as medians, drainages, and public roads.
Justice Agbefarin emphasized that such acts are not only punishable under state law but also contravene the provisions of Section 20 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which mandates both the government and citizens to protect and improve the environment, and to safeguard the nation’s water, air, land, forest, and wildlife resources.
Following the trial, the offenders were found guilty and are to face appropriate sanctions as stipulated in the law.
The Ministry reiterated its commitment to ensuring a clean, safe, and sustainable environment across Oyo State, warning that anyone caught violating environmental laws will face strict legal action.
