The officers who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos claimed that the residents had neglected sanitation laws due to the strike.
NAN recalls that judiciary workers under the aegis of JUSUN had embarked on a nationwide strike on Jan. 2, following the non-implementation of a court order, granting financial autonomy to the judiciary.
The union had said it would not go back on its demands until the orders were implemented.
Reacting to the situation, a prosecutor in charge of the Ojo Local Government Area (LGA), Mr Abdulrasaq Akande, said the strike had crippled environmental activities within the area.
"The strike has really affected our activities in the prosecution of sanitation offenders, and this is so sad.
"The residents flout environmental laws on a daily basis and they have thrown caution to the wind, simply because the courts are under lock and key.
"Since there are no avenues to prosecute these offenders there is generally lack of enforcement of environmental laws,’’ he said.
Akande therefore, called on judiciary workers to embrace amicable settlement of the dispute and ensure the resumption of the courts.
The prosecutor in charge of the Iba LGA, Mr Kola Oyewumi, said that though health officers still monitored activities of residents in the area, such efforts were wasted since offenders could not be brought to book.
"Since the beginning of this strike, you find that some residents are no longer interested in cleaning their gutters and surroundings or even evacuating their over filled septic tanks.
"They exhibit the attitude with so much confidence and indifference and I must say that situation is really annoying.
"We cannot do much at this point in time, but we implore JUSUN to reconsider its stand and call off this strike so as to enable officers resume normal sanitation activities,’’ he said.
Another prosecutor, in charge of the Ijanikin axis, Mr James Alagun, said the situation was more difficult because customary courts in the state were no longer allowed to entertain sanitation cases.
"The strike has left so many of us idle; we see residents flouting environmental laws on a daily basis but there is a limit to what we can do now.
"Only customary courts preside over matters at the moment but issues of sanitation laws no longer fall within their jurisdiction and this makes the situation worse," he said
He urged the government to ensure a peaceful resolution of the dispute.
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