No fewer than 106 Nasarawa State residents have been detained by the sanitation enforcement teams of the state’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources for allegedly breaking environmental cleanliness rules in the state’s 13 local government areas.
After the state’s sanitation drill in September, Yakubu Kwanta, the commissioner for environment and natural resources, said this at a news conference on Saturday in Akwanga LGA.
He stated that 31 people were detained in Akwanga, 21, Lafia, 29, Karu, 4, Nassarawa-Eggon, 6, Awe, 5, Kokona, 7, Keffi, and 3 Obi LGAs.
In order to act as a deterrent to others, he continued, the offenders were prosecuted by mobile courts at their respective LGAs.
Kwanta added that several businesses temporarily shuttered during the exercise but yet expressed pleasure with the degree of compliance demonstrated by the state’s citizens.
“Only those with clearance from the appropriate authorities and those reliant on essential services were permitted to pass through the exercise and move about.
According to him, “the ministry will work with traditional leaders and LGA chairmen to strengthen enforcement in subsequent exercises.”
Kwanta said the ministry has sent letters to citizens of the state to remove drainages surrounding their homes and business premises to prevent flooding. She also urged the public to always maintain their environs clean to prevent illness outbreaks.