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Kwara State Ministry of Environment and Forestry said that it has arrested a police inspector and a waste collector for allegedly operating an llegal dumping site discovered last Thursday in Ilorin, the state capital.
The ministry, in a statement signed by its press secretary, Yakub Aliagan, on Friday, said that it discovered the illegal dump site along General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport Road, Ilorin in Ilorin West Local Government Area where some commercial waste collectors and other residents have been dumping their refuse in violation of the state environmental laws.
Aliagan said, “The ministry also apprehended one Inspector Adamu Usman, a police officer attached to the airport, who was allegedly aiding and abetting the illegal activity, and handed him over to the state police command, headquarters, Ilorin.
“State Commissioner for Environment, Nafisat Buge, who led the enforcement team to the area, said they discovered the site after putting the waste collectors on surveillance.”
“As you can see, we just discovered this illegal dump site that was created by some unidentified people. For instance, we found out that the majority of commercial waste collectors dump their refuse here.
“We have always warned them against mismanaging their waste, and we let them know the penalty involved if any of them are caught,” she told reporters on Thursday evening.
“Fortunately yesterday, we caught one of them. We traced him from the airport road down to this place around 11 pm. That was how we discovered this massive illegal dump site.
“This place is very dangerous. You can see the dump site is located beside the airport and the Aviation College. A plane just took off now. This place does not meet up with the criteria for a dump site. We have an approved dump site around Oko Olowo Expressway, Sokoto Aiyekale precisely. But this place is dangerous for the airport and even the dwellers,” she added.
Buge said the government has revoked the license of the erring waste collector and imposed a fine of N250,000.
The commissioner stated that the government is intensifying efforts to curb indiscriminate refuse dumping, with 124 offenders prosecuted so far, 8 of whom have been jailed.
The enforcement of environmental standards is ongoing, and there has been a 70% compliance rate since the exercise began, resulting in cleaner streets.
"Residents have started disposing of their waste properly, often utilizing the commercial waste collection services we recently publicized. This has led to a notable improvement in waste management."
