Scavengers also known as baban bola have been banned from operating in Ilorin, the state capital of Kogi state as it inaugurates a 300-person Environmental Task Force as part of the new strategies to eradicate indiscriminate dumping of refuse.
The commissioner for Environment, Hajia Nafisat Buge, announced this on Monday while inaugurating members of the Environmental Task Force in Ilorin.
Speaking during the inauguration of members of the Environmental Task Force she advised advised all previously registered scavengers to do their business at the government refuse dump site at Sokoto-Aiyekale off the expressway.
She said that over 300 environmental task force officers have been mobilised to keep 24-hour environmental surveillance and enforcement in five units of over 70 earmarked locations in the state capital metropolis.
The commissioner said that members of the task force comprised of 75 environmental volunteers, men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), vigilance teams, legal officers, Ilorin Emirate Development Progressive Union (IEDPU), and environmental officers, among others.
Buge vowed that anyone caught dumping refuse indiscriminately in any part of the state would be prosecuted, said that the punishment ranges between N50,000 fine for individuals, N150,000 for corporate outfits and between N250,000 and N500,000 for big firms as well as six months jail term.
She said that the menace of indiscriminate dumping of refuse is an unacceptable phenomenon that requires urgent attention, most especially within the metropolis.
