Faith Awa Maji
A mobile court sitting in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, convicted fifty-seven (57) persons for violating the State Monthly Environmental Sanitation Laws on Saturday.
The State Prosecutor Officer, Abubakar Mohammed, told the court that the offenders violated the sanitation law by transacting their private businesses before the official time of 10 am after the exercises.
Mohammed stated that the offenders violated Section 9(2) of the State Environmental Sanitation Laws and urged the court to sanction them to serve as a deterrent to others.
After listening to the submission of the State Prosecutor, the Presiding Judge, Justice Shittu Umar, convicted all the 57 defaulters to at least two and four months or an option of a fine ranging from N2,000 to N4,000.
The State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) also secured the conviction of 17 traffic violators in Nasarawa.
On his part, Chairman, House Committee on Environment at the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Mr Luka Zhekaba, who led a team round Lafia to monitor the exercise, said that the state government had intensified its monitoring to ensure that residents improved their environmental hygiene.
Mr Zhekaba used the event to call on the people of the state to respect the sanitation laws in order to avoid being arrested, urging them to always keep their environment clean to guard against diseases.
Environmental Sanitation in Nasarawa State is scheduled for every last Saturday of the month, with residents expected to fully participate in the clean-up.