Date: 2016-09-25

At least, no fewer than 150 people were on Saturday convicted by mobile courts in Ilorin, Kwara State after they were charged for committing offenses relating to breaching the state’s sanitary law, by roaming about while a monthly sanitation-exercise of September edition was ongoing.

The offenders were arrested and prosecuted for driving, roaming among other offences, which contravene the state's sanitary law, during the monthly exercise in the state. They were convicted and sentenced by payment of fines by Mobile Courts situated at strategic location in Ilorin, the state capital.

The Commissioner, Kwara state Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Otunba Joseph, stated that the state's governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, is totally committed to environmental cleanliness across the state and that the state would not tolerate violation of its law from people fund of commonizing the government's effort in ensuring the state is sanitized.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the exercise, Joseph, who led officials from the ministry on monitoring of the exercise across the state capital, explained that those convicted and sentenced would serve as deterrence to other offenders.

The Commissioner warned that various markets in the state must be kept tidy by traders and associations, saying the government would embark on locking of any unkempt market, that fails to abide by the state's environmental cleanliness policy. "The government of governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has vowed to always ensure environmental cleanliness. We have always said it that if your environment is clean you will not have any cause to visit hospitals.

"We must keep our environment clean. It is a law and we must abide by it. There is no excuse for non-compliance with the sanitation law." he also warned.

The Commissioner, however, acknowledged previous month's exercise to be more successful than that of present due to the level of compliance by the residents of across the state's metropolis.

Also speaking, the State Chairman, National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Kazeem Adekany, who commended the government for an uninterrupted monthly exercise, observed that there is need for more mobile courts in some areas of the Ilorin metropolis, for immediately conviction various offenders such of those who received full wrath of the state's law.