At least, 124 persons have been arrested by the
Ogun State Government for engaging in open
defecation within the State.
The Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on
Environment, Ola Oresanya, said the arrested
persons were prosecuted and sentenced to
community service for contravening the State’s
environmental and health laws.
According to Oresanya, 82 of the offenders were
arrested in the Mowe-Ibafo axis of Obafemi-Owode
Local Government area of the State.
The arrest, Oresanya said, was part of efforts aimed
at ending open defecation and maintaining the
environmental safety of the people.
“This bad habit which is mostly done late in the
night and at dawn has negative implications on the
immediate communities where they are practised,”
Oresanya said, warning that the government would
not watch some dirty individuals put the health of
others at risk through their “shameful act”.
He stressed that the arrest of the offenders would
be a continuous exercise, saying Ogun has zero
tolerance for open defecation.
He warned drivers of trucks and their motorboys,
especially along the Mowe-Ibafo axis to stop
defecating on medians and roadsides, urging them
to make use of public toilets provided by the State
government.
Oresanya added that petrol stations and eateries in
the State had been mandated to make their rest
rooms available for public use as part of their
corporate social responsibility.
