About seventy environmental sanitation defaulters have been arrested and charged at

the Sanitation Court in Umuahia, in Abia State during the August edition of the monthly

environmental exercise.

The clean-up exercise which recorded a high level of compliance in most parts of the

Abia State capital, also saw some residents violating extant environmental laws, leading

to their arrest by task force teams, and the Abia State government has vowed to

establish mobile sanitation courts in markets and other important areas in the state to

enforce compliance with the sanitation exercise.

Commissioner for Environment Philemon Ogbonna who disclosed this during the

environmental sanitation exercise said, he was responding to the complaints by the

Orie-Ugba Market Coordinator of the Abia State War Against Indiscipline, Okwum

Victor, said the Court when established, would be charged with the prosecution of

sanitation defaulters in various markets and other places in the state.

He expressed dismay that some youths were still seen in Umuahia streets playing

football during environmental protection hours and urged traders in the State to clean up

their areas, adding that the August edition of the environmental sanitation exercise

recorded some improvement when compared with the previous ones.