The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has secured two-month jail terms for three individuals who committed various environmental infractions, while another individual is awaiting judgement for patronising a cart pusher.
This follows the agency’s coordination with the police to end the persistent attacks on LAWMA’s employees, assuring the swift arrest of cart pushers and those who continue to patronise them.
Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, made the announcement in his Ijora-Olopa office on Tuesday, noting that the arrangement with the police was intended to sustain the renewed offensive against all forms of environmental infractions and unjustified attacks on the agency’s personnel.
He said: “Last week, we got jail terms for three environmental offenders, with a pending sentence for another person who patronised a cart pusher. It is an offense for anyone to patronise cart pushers. Before now, we had warned unrepentant environmental violators about our renewed offensive against bad practices. We were able to secure jail sentences of a minimum of two months for three such persons, while one is still pending; it will serve as a deterrent to others”.
“I am also happy about LAWMA’s collaboration with the Nigerian Police to end needless attacks on our personnel on day or night duty. That collaboration is also to put an end to cart pushing, as any cart pusher found anywhere in Lagos will be promptly arrested and prosecuted, while those who patronise them will not be spared”, he asserted.
Odumboni informed residents that an additional 600 carts had been destroyed, bringing the total number of carts destroyed in the last ten weeks to almost 3,000, and advised them against patronising cart pushers because both the cart pusher and the customer are liable for violating the law.
“We have demolished carts impounded by our enforcement team in the course of their duty. This is to further reinforce our stance that the activities of cart pushers across the Lagos metropolis remain banned. We will not allow anyone or group of persons to undermine the ongoing efforts to establish a sustainable environment”, Odumboni said.
The Managing Director reaffirmed the Authority’s readiness to integrate willing cart pushers into the State’s waste management system as collectors of recyclable materials, working in tandem with other stakeholders in the waste management supply chain.
The chief executive officer emphasised that the negative impacts of cart pushing on the environment and security structure made it imperative to stop the practise in order to preserve lives and property.
The head of the LAWMA emphasised the agency’s unwavering dedication to making the city sustainably clean and urged citizens to support the Authority’s initiatives by avoiding inappropriate garbage disposal, paying their waste bills, and patronising designated PSP operators.