ASEPA frowns at attack on resident by staff, urge Abians to cooperate with taskforce team
ASEPA frowns at attack on resident by staff, urge Abians to cooperate with taskforce team
The Abia State Environmental Protection Agency has condemned the machete attack on a resident in Umuahia during an enforcement related incident, describing the act as unlawful and contrary to the agency’s operational standards.
The Deputy General Manager of ASEPA in charge of the Umuahia zone, Catechist Ambrose Jonah, made this known on Monday while briefing journalists at the agency’s office in the state capital.
Jonah said preliminary findings showed that the individual who carried out the attack was not a member of ASEPA’s monitoring team on duty at the time of the incident, adding that the suspect acted independently during a confrontation between residents and agency personnel.
He stated that ASEPA does not operate with weapons and does not authorise its personnel to carry or use offensive tools under any circumstance.
According to him, the agency has disbanded its monitoring team in the Umuahia zone as part of immediate steps to address public concerns and prevent a recurrence, retaining only a small number of personnel selected for their conduct and responsibility.
Jonah confirmed that the suspects connected to the incident were currently in police custody and that ASEPA had handed the matter over to law enforcement authorities for investigation.
He said enforcement duties often attract resistance from members of the public but stressed that violence was unacceptable regardless of provocation.
The ASEPA official appealed to residents to cooperate with environmental officers, noting that sanitation enforcement was in the collective interest of the state and its people.
He also disclosed that the agency was strengthening public sensitisation efforts and reviewing its enforcement procedures, including the reactivation of mobile environmental courts to address violations through legal channels.
Jonah reaffirmed ASEPA’s commitment to maintaining a clean environment through lawful, non violent and community focused approaches, while urging the public to support government efforts aimed at promoting environmental order in Umuahia.