Quick Summary:
An Ogun State Magistrate Court in Abeokuta sentences eight offenders to community service for indiscriminate waste dumping, warning repeat offenders will face jail terms.
Eight Convicted For Illegal Waste Disposal
An Ogun State Magistrate Court sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta, has sentenced eight offenders to community service for indiscriminate waste disposal across parts of the state capital.
The offenders — six females and two males — were apprehended between 6:15 a.m. and 8:05 a.m. on Friday while dumping refuse on public roads at Isale-Igbein, Car-Wash, and Abiola Way within the Abeokuta Magisterial District.
Prosecution And Charges
Prosecuting the suspects on a two-count charge, Sanitarian Kehinde Ogunsola, the Medical Officer of Health at the Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAMA), told the court that the waste emitted offensive odour and attracted flies, posing a public health risk capable of spreading cholera.
Ogunsola explained that indiscriminate dumping endangers public health and contributes to flooding, which damages lives and property.
He added that the offence contravenes the Public Health Law of Ogun State, 2006, and Section 34(1) of the Ogun State Waste Management Authority Law, 2020.
Court’s Verdict
Delivering judgment, Justice A.K. Araba found the eight offenders — Oyebanjo Abidemi, Aminat Adewusi, Aminat Olarewaju, Omolana Olusola, Abiola Moridiya, Olaogun Mary, Abiodun Aromokun, and Iwenya Sylvester — guilty as charged.
They were sentenced to community service within the Isabo Magistrates Court premises.
The judge further ordered that photographs of the offenders performing their community service be displayed on the court’s notice board, warning that any repeat offender will be jailed without an option of fine to serve as a deterrent to others.
OGWAMA Commends Judiciary, Warns Residents
Reacting to the judgment, Farouk Adeniyi Akintunde, Special Adviser to the Governor and Managing Director of OGWAMA, commended the Ogun State Judiciary for its firm interpretation of environmental laws and support for the agency’s enforcement drive.
He reaffirmed OGWAMA’s commitment to intensifying enforcement across the state to curb indiscriminate waste dumping.
Akintunde also warned residents still engaging in illegal waste disposal to patronize accredited waste managers or face prosecution when caught.