The Abia State Ministry of Environment has frowned at the behavior of some security personnel during its monthly environmental sanitation, advising them against engaging in lawbreaking activities.
One such act includes carrying defaulters inside their vehicles during cleanup hours.
The state’s Commissioner for Environment, Mr Philomen Ogbonna, gave the advice in Umuahia on Saturday, while speaking to journalists after monitoring this month’s sanitation exercise.
The commissioner, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Joy Maduka, said that the Abia State government was using the cleanup exercise to promote a cleaner environment for Abia citizens, noting that the April edition recorded significant improvement from previous outings.
The commissioner stated that it was wrong for security personnel to set up illegal checkpoints in Umuahia where they penalized environmental offenders, instead of taking such defaulters to the government-approved Mobile Court at the Ministry of Environment in Umuahia.
She recalled an ugly experience she had a few months ago at the hands of a military man during a cleanup.
“Like an experience we had. We stopped somebody and he did not obey us. He wanted to fight us. He really abused us. It was later that he identified himself as a military man,” said the Permanent Secretary.
Meanwhile, Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) has announced that it will begin penalising anyone found dumping waste at unapproved hours and places, stating that more waste disposal equipment has been acquired by the state government.
The Deputy General Manager of ASEPA in charge of Umuahia zone, Catechist Ambrose Jonah, said this in Umuahia after monitoring sensitization and cleanup efforts, which were organised by ASEPA, the Ministry of Environment, and other groups to remove heaps of stench at Isi Gate and other parts of Umuahia.
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