The Abia State House of Assembly has criticized police officers from the Central Police Station (CPS) Umuahia for misconduct during the state’s monthly sanitation exercise, accusing them of violating established procedures.
Instead of collaborating with the Ministry of Environment to ensure compliance, the officers reportedly arrested defaulters independently, transporting them to the station and demanding bail payments.
Mba Nwoko, Chairman of the House Committee on Environment and representative of Ohafia South State Constituency, expressed concern over the issue after monitoring the exercise in Umuahia. Nwoko alleged that the police officers hired private vehicles to detain defaulters, extorting between N10,000 and N25,000 from those arrested.
Describing the officers’ actions as a breach of the Environmental Sanitation Law, Nwoko called on the state governor to intervene and ensure that authorities take corrective measures. “The actions of the Nigerian police CPS division violate the law,” Nwoko said. “Any fines collected from defaulters should be paid into government coffers, not pocketed for personal gain.”
He emphasized that the police should be working in cooperation with environmental officials during the monthly sanitation exercises, rather than arresting and extorting residents. “We are supposed to work in synergy on these cleanup days, but instead, they are arresting people and collecting money, which is unacceptable,” he added.
Nwoko vowed to bring the issue to the next plenary session of the State Assembly, with the aim of enacting legislation to prevent future abuses. He also revealed plans to establish a mobile sanitation court at Orie Ugba Market to prosecute violators of the sanitation law.
Speaking on the situation, the Commissioner for Environment, Philemon Ogbonna, represented by Director Udechukwu Ukachukwu, urged transport unions from neighboring states to comply with sanitation restrictions, emphasizing that the exercise is observed nationwide.
“This cleanup exercise has become ingrained in the nation’s fabric,” Ukachukwu noted. “Abia State holds its cleanup on the last Saturday of each month, and we urge travelers from neighboring states to respect this.”
The WHISTLER reports that 83 sanitation defaulters were arrested and arraigned before the Environmental Sanitation Court.
