Officials of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps have arrested 20 individuals for defecation open on the median in the Berger area of the state.
The Commissioner for Environmental and Water Resources, Tokunboh Wahab, disclosed this via his X.com handle.
According to him, the offenders were arrested during a patrol and monitoring exercise along the area on Saturday night and the wee hours of Sunday.
“Open defecation during patrol and monitoring of Ojodu-Berger yesterday night and early hours of today, operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps arrested 20 individuals for committing environmental infractions.”
Wahab in a separate post stated that six defaulters were arrested on Saturday for open urination on a rail track in the Oshodi area of the state.
“Six defaulters were earlier today arrested for open urination on the rail track in front of Nigeria Army Shopping Complex, Arena, Oshodi.”
It was reported that the Ogun and Lagos state governments announced plans to enforce and prosecute individuals engaging in open defecation, particularly in border towns they both shared.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on the Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency, Oluwadare Kehinde, made the announcement during a joint press briefing with his Lagos State counterpart, Dr Tunde Ajayi, at Berger in Lagos on August 15.
According to him, the move was aimed to prevent the outbreak of communicable diseases like cholera and diarrhoea especially in the border towns of Mowe, Magboro, Warewa, Kara and Isheri.
Kehinde said the enforcement team would start operation at the end of the sensitization campaign and they will work in shifts to apprehend and prosecute offenders with relevant environmental laws.
Credit: Punch
