The Nasarawa State Government has banned the use and sale of charcoal in the state to protect the environment.
The Permanent Secretary (PS) Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Aliyu Agwai, disclosed this while addressing journalists after the December sanitation exercise in Lafia the state capital.
According to the Permanent Secretary, the process of producing charcoal is very harmful to the environment, destroys the climate thereby increasing global warming.
Mr. Agwai added that the burning of charcoal also produces the very emission that efforts are being made to reduce.
“Cutting trees can result in the loss of habitat for animal species, which can harm ecosystems.
“Almost all the land animals and plants live in forests, and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes,” he noted.
He warned those selling and using charcoal to desist to avoid prosecution in case of violation.
On the assessment of the sanitation exercise, the PS lauded residents of the state for the level of compliance despite the change in the date.
“Usually every last Saturday of the month is set aside for sanitation exercise, but we brought it back to today because of the Christmas celebration,” the PS said
Agwai added that all roads to the state were blocked to prevent motorists from other states from passing and were opened after the sanitary exercise.
“We only allowed those with permission from relevant ministry, or on essential services to pass and move around during the exercise,” the PS added.
Contravening environmental laws
Meanwhile, a mobile court, handling environmental-related cases, has prosecuted 32 persons suspected to have violated environmental sanitation laws in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
The Prosecutor, Mr. Abubakar Mohammed, who is also the Chief Environment Officer, told the court that the suspects were transacting their private businesses while the sanitation exercise was in progress.
Mohammed said that the offenses violated section 9(2), of the State Environmental Sanitation Law.
He urged the court to sanction them accordingly to serve as a deterrent to others.
The Judge, Mr. Abdullahi Lande, convicted and sentenced them to six months imprisonment with the option of a fine of between N5,000 to N50,000.
Emmanuel Ukoh
