The Nasarawa State Government has banned the use and sale of charcoal in the state to safeguard the environment.
The declaration was made by Mr Aliyu Agwai, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, while addressing to reporters in Lafia on Saturday.
He says that manufacturing charcoal is harmful to the environment since it destroys the climate and contributes to global warming.
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According to Agwai, the burning of charcoal, in particular, causes harmful pollutants.
“Cutting trees can result in the loss of habitat for animal species, which can harm the ecosystems.
“Almost all the land animals and plants live in forests and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes,” he observed.
He cautioned persons selling and using charcoal to stop doing so in order to avoid being prosecuted in the event of a breach.
He praised the citizens of the state for their high level of compliance with the environmental cleanliness sensitization program.
“Normally, the last Saturday of every month is set aside for sanitation exercises,” he explained, “but we moved it back to today because of the Christmas celebration.”
According to Agwai, all highways into the state were closed to prevent motorists from passing through, but they were reopened following the hygienic exercise.
“We only allowed those with permission from the relevant ministry, or on essential services to pass and move around during the exercise,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Lafia, a mobile court that deals with environmental crimes has charged 32 people with violating environmental cleanliness regulations.
Mr Abubakar Mohammed, the prosecutor, who is also the Chief Environment Officer, told the court that the accused were doing their own enterprises while the sanitation operation was taking place.
According to Mohammed, the offenses were in violation of Section 9(2) of the state’s Environmental Sanitation Law.
He pleaded with the court to punish them appropriately as a deterrent to others.
Mr Abdullahi Lande, the judge, found them guilty and sentenced them to six months in prison, with the option of a fine of between N5,000 and N50,000.
