A court in Ilorin gave 40 people a three-month jail sentence on Friday. They broke the Kwara State Environmental Law.
The people were from Ilorin. They broke rules such as improperly throwing away trash and taking things without permission. They said they were guilty.
Judge Saidu Tunde Abdulkareem said each person must serve three months in jail. But, they can also pay a N50,000 fine instead.
31 people were caught for throwing trash everywhere. 9 people were caught for taking things without permission.
Nafisat Buge, the Kwara State Environment and Forestry Commissioner, said the judgment was good. She said the law helps stop diseases, floods, and other problems caused by trash.
The ministry started a 300-person task force recently. This group catches people who break trash rules. They charge people for things like wrong trash disposal and taking stuff illegally.
Buge said, “The task force started working on Tuesday. They made some arrests. We have a court that handles these cases, just like today.”
She added that the ministry has been teaching people the right way to handle trash.
“Earlier, the state made a law to stop scavenging in Ilorin. People can only do this at a place set by the government near Sokoto Aiyekale expressway,” she said.
“For those who throw trash anywhere, we talked to them. We also used media to tell people why it’s bad to throw trash everywhere. This practice can cause many dangers.”
The commissioner asked Ilorin residents to use public trash bins or hire waste collectors. These collectors charge a small fee to handle trash properly.
She said, “We checked our drainages and found most are blocked due to wrong trash disposal. We are cleaning them but don’t want it to happen again. We want a clean and healthy state.”