Traditional Leader, Clergy, Seven Others In Court For Defecating Openly

An Ekiti State Magistrates’ Court,  has sentenced nine people including a traditional title holder and clergy to six months in prison each for open defecation.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that those convicted were arraigned for various sanitation offenses including non-availability of toilet facilities in their houses, non-availability of waste bins, and defecating in the open.

Delivering judgment, the Magistrate, Mr. Adeosun Abayomi lamented the environmental nuisance caused by open defecation.

He, however, gave the convicts, the options of fines ranging from ₦5,000 to N15,000.

The Magistrate court also issued a bench warrant for the arrest of nine other persons who failed to appear in court for a similar offence.

He ordered the police to present them for prosecution on April 25, 2019.

Of the 18 people arraigned before the Magistrate court by Ekiti Local Government Environmental Health Officers, nine people pleaded guilty to the offenses, and were convicted accordingly.