The Ogun State government on Thursday disclosed that it has arrested no fewer than 124 offenders for open defecation.
The offenders who were arrested in various locations across the state with 82 of them from Mowe-Ibafo axis in Obafemi-Owode local government area of the state, were subsequently sentenced to community services.
Speaking on the arrest, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment and Chief Executive Officer of the Ogun State Waste Management Authority, (OGWAMA), Mr Ola Oresanya said the offenders were apprehended as parts of efforts of the state government towards stopping the indecent habit, make the state open defecation free and maintain the environmental safety of the people.
He said the offence contravened the state’s environmental and health laws.
Oresanya added that the bad habit which was mostly done late in the night and at dawn have negative implications on the immediate communities where they are practised and the state at large, especially during this period that the world is ravaged by a pandemic, saying that the state government will not fold its hands and watch few dirty individuals put the health of the majority at risk through their shameful act.
While reiterating that arrest of offenders will continue as the state has zero-tolerance for open defecation, Oresanya warned drivers of articulated vehicles and their cohorts who transit the state especially the Mowe-Ibafo axis to stop defecating on medians and roadsides while on stopovers, urging them to visit public toilets provided by the state government for their conveniences instead of engaging in such ignominious practice.
