An Ondo State Magistrate Court sitting in Idanre, in the Idanre Local Government Area of the state, has sentenced a commercial driver, Samson Akingbasote, to four months’ imprisonment for assaulting environmental sanitation officers on duty.

The incident happened on Saturday during the monthly environmental sanitation that took place across the state. He was arrested and charged to court on two counts.

The prosecutor, Olayemi John, told the court that Akingbasote manhandled the officers during the exercise when he was questioned for staying at home while other were cleaning their environment.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge and also pleaded for leniency.

The court sentenced him to four months imprisonment with the option of N5,000 fine on each of the two counts levelled against him

The court also ordered him to pay N7,000 to the officers he harassed.

Meanwhile, following the directive of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, the Abia State Government said it had initiated a paradigm shift on the method of environmental sanitation in the state.

The Commissioners for Environment, Sam Nwogu; and Information, Eze Chikamnayo, stated this in Umuahia and Aba on Saturday during the October edition of the monthly exercise, adding that environmental sanitation in the state would now come with new vigour.

Chikamnayo said the state government would enforce the exercise to help residents clean their environment as “Ikpeazu wants the state to be clean.”