Ogun Seals Five Companies Over Environmental Violations, Attacks Govt Officials
Ogun State government has sealed no fewer than five companies for allegedly assaulted and inflicted injuries on law enforcement officers and state government officials in the state.
According to it, the affected officers and officials were attacked during their visit to the companies in a bid to carry out their lawful duties.
The companies are DL Plastics Limited, Dyschenghan Plastics, SH Agricultural Limited, Beautiful Fibre Limited and Jincaicai Nigeria Limited all located in Ogere Axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment, Hon Abayomi Hunye, who order the closure of the affected companies, also arrested some of the officials of the company.
Hunye, who doubles as the Managing Director of the Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAMA) explained that the five companies mobilized, assaulted and inflicted bodily harm on law enforcement officers and state government officials from OGWAMA who were in their premises to seal their facilities.
He added that the sanctions followed the expiration of several invitations and official letters written to them over the alleged environmental infractions their companies had committed through improper waste disposal, waste burning and refusal to patronize government- recognized waste collectors.
According to him, the infractions are allegedly posing serious environmental risks not only within their facilities but in their immediate environment and the state at large.
"We have been on this case for the past six months. We have sent letters to them and invited them to let them know what they have done,but they refused to honor our invitation, aside from these letters, our officials have visited them severally but they refused to allow them in".
"After all these efforts proved abortive, we pasted notices of intention to seal them on the their premises especially on their main and entrance gates in the past three months hoping that that will trigger them to honor our invitation. They still refused to come forward, so last week Thursday our officials sealed them by locking their entrance gates. But to our surprise, they did not only remove government seal-order, but they broke government chains used to lock them"
"To enforce the earlier seal-up order, state officials in company of law enforcement officers went to their industries hours ago. However they were met with mob attack by their workers who assaulted and inflicted bodily harm on law enforcement officers and state government officials, who were all rushed to hospital thereby not only preventing them from carrying out their lawful duties but with the intent of to harming them"
Hunye who decried the barbaric action of the five companies said what is even annoying is that these Chinese companies have not only constituted themselves to environmental nuisance with their attitude,conduct and behaviour to constituted environmental authorities but have the efontry of not only assaulting but inflicting bodily harm on law enforcement officers and state government officials without considering their grave implications.
The OGWAMA boss, however, warned that Ogun State government will not fold its hands and watch few recatrant Chinese companies and their nationals carry out such dastardly act under the pretext of investing in the state as any of them caught will be prosecuted under the law of the land.
