Oyo State government has prosecuted 45 street traders in Ibadan metropolis.
It said street trading would not be tolerated.
The government said measures were being put in place to prevent flood. It added that dredging had begun on major streams and blocked drainages were being cleared.
The traders, who appeared before Magistrate Patricia Olasunbo Adetuyibi at the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources premises, on illegal placement of goods on public roads, were prosecuted under Section 2, Sub-Section 14 of the Oyo State Solid Waste Management Offences, Fines and Sanctions.
The traders, who pleaded that they would not display their goods on the streets again, were sentenced to two months’ imprisonment with an option of fine, ranging from N5,000 to N10,000.
The government has been sensitising the public, especially traders, to stop displaying goods on roads and streets.
Environment and Water Resources Commissioner Chief Isaac Ishola said sensitisation and enlightenment had been made to stop street trading, noting that it is an act of violating environmental regulations laws.
He said: “We have engaged them in this cause, we have sensitised them, we have made them realise the benefit of environmental hygiene. Trading on the street is against the environmental regulation laws of Oyo State. We have made arrests and appearances before the magistrate. If they are guilty, the court will sentence them to prison or an option of fine, but we are not really interested in their fines, but compliance with no street trading. In essence, what we are saying is no more street trading, which is what the law says.”
Ishola advised traders to comply with the no-street trading laws, noting that the government cannot fold its arms and allow the citizens to lose lives, all in the name of street trading and trading under high tension cables.
He said it was an offence for anybody to trade with wheelbarrow by the roadside, adding that anybody who did so would be arrested and arraigned for constituting an environmental nuisance.