A newly married couple, Mr. & Mrs. Josiah Oyewo and 27 others were sentenced to three months imprisonment each by a Mobile Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State over violation of environmental sanitation offences.
The court presided over by Magistrate Olubunmi Bamidele, handed down the sentences at the weekend for flagrant noncompliance with the Ekiti State Environmental Sanitation Laws of 2004.
They were arrested by the Special Taskforce on Sanitation during the August edition of the exercise held across the state.
The arrested persons, mainly travellers and hawkers, were apprehended by the officials of the environmental sanitation monitoring the exercise within the Ado-Ekiti metropolis.
According to the charges, the accused persons were found roaming the major streets in the town during the exercise, contrary to Section 17 (h) of the Ekiti State Environmental Sanitation Laws of 2004 and punishable under the same section.
The charges stated that the accused persons also failed to participate in the exercise as required by the Environmental Sanitation Edict of 2004 and punishable under the same section.
They also obstructed the enforcement officers of Environmental Sanitation from performing their duty at various locations in the state and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 20 of the Ekiti State Environmental Sanitation Laws of 2004 and punishable under the same section.
After listening to the charges against the accused, the Magistrate, Mrs Bamidele, sentenced each of them to three months imprisonment with hard labour.
She, however, gave each of them an option of N5, 000 fine on each count charge in lieu of the sentence.
