The Nasarawa State Government says it has apprehended 42 persons for violating sanitation laws by living in houses without toilet facilities, as part of efforts to curb open defecation across the state.
Abubakar Mohammed, Chief Prosecution Officer of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the end of the June sanitation exercise on Saturday in Lafia.
The prosecutor officer explained that the arrests were made on Saturday during a joint sanitation enforcement exercise led by the ministry and security operatives.
He further explained that the team have arrested 88 other defaulters of environmental sanitation law across the 13 Local Government Areas of the state for transacting their private businesses while the sanitation exercise was in progress.
He said that their actions violated the provisions of section 9 (2) of the State Environmental Sanitation Law.
He explained that the 42 arrested for lack of toilet facilities alongside the other defaulters were prosecuted by the various mobile courts at their respective LGAs to serve as a deterrent to others.
“The government would no longer tolerate practices that endanger public health because the state sanitation law makes it mandatory for every household to have a functional toilet.
“Open defecation is not only unhealthy, but it is also illegal. Today, we apprehended 42 persons whose homes were found without any form of toilet facility,” he added.
He explained that the enforcement was a follow-up to several public sensitisation campaigns carried out in the state, warning residents to provide basic sanitation infrastructure in their homes.
The Chief Prosecutor Officer further said that the lack of toilets in many compounds contributes to the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and diarrhoea, especially during the rainy season.
“When people defecate openly, rainwater washes the waste into water sources and drainage. The children and vulnerable people suffer most. Government cannot fold its arms,” he added.
He therefore reiterated the government’s commitment to making the state open defecation-free by 2028, in line with the National Roadmap on Sanitation.
Meanwhile, Princess Margaret Elayo, Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources represented by Illiya Yusuf-Adeka, General Manager, Nasarawa State Environmental Protection Agency expressed satisfaction with the level of compliance by members of the public.
She described the level of compliance as impressive and attributed it to support from security agencies, traditional rulers, media, and inspection teams from the ministry.
The commissioner called on members of the public to always keep their environments clean to guard against the outbreak of all diseases.
“If the environment is kept clean, it will guard against a possible outbreak of any disease, thereby ensuring improved healthy living of the people,’’ she added. (NAN).
