Kingsley U.N. Chikwendu —
The Registrar of the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON), Dr Yakubu Baba, while on a visit to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, last Wednesday, revealed that the Nigerian government is set to commence the enforcement of sanitary laws.
He also said mobile courts will be constituted to prosecute defaulters.
While disclosing that the enforcement would begin from July, 2023, he added that the mobile courts would ensure speedy resolution of cases.
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“Since I assumed duty in August 2020, we have been adopting the carrot method; now we want to deploy the stick method which is go to the field and start enforcing the law, Baba said.
“In our efforts to enforce the law, we have stages because we have the legislative record, guidelines and we also have the mobile courts.
“Most of our cases are not cases that can be taken to the conventional courts because such cases need not drag on for too long because this could be injurious to the health of Nigerians.
“So, we are ready with all that is required for us to hit the ground running” he stated.
The Registrar said the enforcement activities were part of the council’s efforts to launch the rebranding of environmental health service in the country and added that the amendment of the council’s law in 2022 gave it the power to bite because, “we had teeth before but we could not bite”.
