59 people arrested for environmental crimes in Abia

Fifty-nine defaulters on Saturday were arrested in various parts of Umuahia and arraigned before the Abia State Circuit Court for violating basic environmental laws of the Abia State government.

They were selected by task force officials and brought to the Umuahia High Court and appeared before Justice Onyinyechi Ibekwe.

While some of those who could not pay their debts were wandering on the road, others were arrested in their workplaces, ignoring the warnings of the state government.

Speaking to newsmen after the exercise, Abia State Commissioner for Environment, Philemon Ogbonna, represented by the Director in charge of the Ministry of Environment, Rev. Udechukwu Ukachukwu, expressed satisfaction with the level of harmony among residents but expressed regret that some residents were still going ahead with the exercise. About playing football on the streets during environmental cleaning hours from 7 in the morning to 10 in the evening.

Also speaking, the Chairman, Environment Committee, Abia State House of Assembly, Kalu Mba Nwoke, said in September, policemen were involved in extorting environmental criminals and stalling arrested defaulters.

He, however, said the extortion and stalling of defaulters by the police was not reported in the October edition of the clean-up exercise and lauded the Abia State Police Command for the development.

“The commissioner’s meeting with them yielded results. We express our gratitude to the Nigerian Police. “They even promised us that they would deploy their men next month to ensure the success of the exercise.”

During the exercise, some illegal waste storage areas and culverts were detected in the World Bank Mass Housing.