On Thursday, the Kwara State Ministry of Environment found an illegal dump site near General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport in Ilorin, the state’s capital. Some waste collectors and residents were breaking the law by dumping trash there.
The ministry also caught Inspector Adamu Usman, a police officer who was helping with this illegal dumping. He has been handed over to the state police headquarters in Ilorin.
The Commissioner for Environment, Nafisat Musa Buge, led the team to find out why this was happening. She said they found the site by keeping an eye on the waste collectors.
“We just found this illegal dump site made by some unidentified people. Most commercial waste collectors dump their trash here. We’ve warned them many times about managing their waste properly and told them about the penalties if they are caught,” she told reporters on Thursday evening.
“Yesterday, we caught one person. We followed him from the airport road to this place around 11 p.m., and that’s how we found this big illegal dump site.
“This place is very dangerous. The dump site is beside the airport and the Aviation College. A plane just took off now. This place is not fit for a dump site. We have an approved dump site around Oko Olowo Expressway, Sokoto Aiyekale. But this place is harmful to the airport and the people living nearby.”
She said they took away the license of the waste collector who was caught and fined him N250,000.
The Commissioner also said they are working hard to stop illegal dumping, and have already prosecuted 124 offenders to make others think twice.
“Out of these 124, eight have been jailed. The main crimes are dumping refuse illegally and illegal scavenging,” she said.
“We are not stopping. We will keep enforcing the environmental rules until people stop dumping trash anywhere they like. This is important because dumping trash anywhere is dangerous.”
The DAILY POST reports that since the ministry started this enforcement, waste management has gotten much better.
The Commissioner said, “We have achieved about 70 percent compliance in just a few days. Streets that were covered with trash are now much cleaner.”
“People now keep their trash until our vehicles come by. Many are using the commercial waste collectors whose details we gave out a few days ago. So, there has been a big improvement.”
With the Commissioner were the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Abubakar Ayinla; Secretary, State Environmental Protection Agency, Idayat Folohunsho; and the Chairman, Waste Disposal Association, Kwara State, Sakariya Tairu, among others.