A mobile court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, on Saturday convicted 57 persons for violating the state’s Environmental Sanitation Laws.
The prosecutor, Abubakar Mohammed, told the court that the offenders were arrested while transacting their private businesses when they should be engaged in the monthly sanitation exercise.
Mohammed said that the offences violated Section 9(2) of the State Environmental Sanitation Laws, and urged the court to sanction them accordingly, to serve as deterrent to others.
After listening to the submission of the prosecutor, the Presiding Judge, Justice Shittu Umar, convicted all the 57 defaulters to between two and four months, but with an option of fine ranging from N2,000 to N4,000.
Meanwhile, Mr Luka Zhekaba, Chairman, Nasarawa State House of Assembly Committee on Environment, led a team round the state capital, Lafia, to monitor compliance with the exercise by the residents.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the monitoring, Zhekaba said that government had intensified monitoring to ensure that residents improved their environmental hygiene.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the State Government had set aside last Saturday of every month for environmental sanitation in the area.
