By Tony Okafor, Awka
The Managing Director of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (Ocha Brigade), Comrade Celestine Anere, has issued a stern warning that anyone caught violating Anambra State’s environmental laws will be prosecuted and may end up in prison.
He declared that the era of leniency is over as the agency adopts a firm and uncompromising stance against those who dirty the state.
Anere, who addressed journalists on Thursday evening at the Ocha Brigade Corporate Headquarters in Awka, announced that the agency has recruited 200 additional personnel to strengthen its enforcement capacity.
He said the expanded workforce will intensify frontline monitoring and ensure that no offender escapes punishment under the law.
He expressed concern over the rising trend of property owners erecting residential and commercial buildings without proper catchment pits, resorting instead to channeling wastewater onto public roads and spaces.
He condemned the practice as harmful, illegal, and dangerous, stressing that Anambra’s environmental laws strictly prohibit the discharge of wastewater from private premises into public areas.
According to him, it is an offence for households or businesses to direct water from kitchens, bathrooms, compounds, or car-wash outlets onto public roads or drains.
Anere declared that the Brigade will clamp down on all car-wash operations that lack approved facilities for wastewater management.
He said any operator who cannot prove the existence of a functional catchment pit will be shut down immediately, insisting that the reckless discharge of water damages infrastructure and endangers public health.
He further announced that the Brigade has issued a 48-hour notice, effective from Monday, to all car-wash operators and residents, adding that radio and other media announcements will follow to ensure that nobody is taken by surprise.
He maintained that the agency has been issuing warnings for the past three years and will no longer tolerate excuses.
The Ocha Brigade boss also disclosed that the agency will soon begin removing shanties, illegal structures, and buildings constructed on drainage channels across the state.
He said such structures obstruct water flow, worsen flooding, and violate planning and environmental regulations.
Anere urged residents to cooperate with the Ocha Brigade in the collective effort to achieve a clean, safe, and environmentally responsible Anambra State.
He called on communities, businesses, and households to comply with environmental laws and support the government’s drive to protect public health and restore environmental order.
