The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has warned Nigerians against indiscriminate littering, saying dropping refuse on the ground including something as small as a discarded recharge card could attract a ₦20,000 fine, six months’ imprisonment, or both upon conviction under Nigeria’s environmental sanitation regulations.
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NESREA’s Kaduna State Coordinator, Hena Emmanuel-Dangari, gave the warning in Kaduna while speaking on the agency’s efforts to improve environmental sanitation and encourage compliance with waste-disposal regulations.
Emmanuel-Dangari said the sanctions were provided for under NESREA’s sanitation and waste-control regulations and warned that corporate bodies and organisations could face substantially higher penalties depending on the environmental offence involved.
The legal framework he referred to is the National Environmental (Sanitation and Wastes Control) Regulations 2009, made pursuant to Section 34 of the NESREA Establishment Act 2007. The regulation applies to environmental sanitation and different categories of waste and is intended to promote environmentally sound sanitation and waste-management practices.
Regulation 3 expressly provides that no person should “discard, throw or drop any litter or any similar refuse anywhere except in designated litter bins.” It also prohibits occupants or passengers in vehicles from throwing litter onto streets, roads, highways, public spaces and other undesignated places.
The regulations define litter broadly to include materials such as scrap paper, newspapers, sweet wrappers, water sachets and fruit skins abandoned anywhere other than an approved receptacle. The definition therefore extends beyond conventional household refuse to everyday discarded materials.
Under the penalties contained in Regulation 94, a person convicted of specified litter-related offences under Regulation 71(a) to (i) is liable to a ₦20,000 fine or imprisonment for six months, or both.
This means the regulation itself states the penalty in the alternative — fine, imprisonment or both — rather than making six months’ imprisonment automatic for every instance of littering.
Emmanuel-Dangari nevertheless stressed that NESREA’s primary objective was not to arrest or punish Nigerians but to secure voluntary compliance and bring about a change in public attitudes towards the environment.
“What NESREA is trying to tell us is that we need to have a change in attitude. It is not just about paying penalties,” he said.
“NESREA prefers you to be self-compliant. If all Nigerians can change our attitude and behaviour, that will make our environment a better place for everyone.”
The coordinator said the agency had gazetted environmental regulations covering different sectors of the economy, with sanctions varying according to the type and severity of the violation.
NESREA’s official regulatory listing includes the National Environmental (Sanitation and Wastes Control) Regulations, which provides the legal framework for sanitation and waste management alongside other regulations covering different environmental sectors.
The 2009 regulations also impose broader obligations on households, businesses and waste generators.
Individuals and organisations generating waste are expected to ensure that waste is properly contained and disposed of through authorised channels. Households are required to have appropriate waste-collection containers, while commercial establishments are expected to provide receptacles for litter and recyclable materials.
Vehicle owners are also required under the regulations to provide appropriate litter receptacles for occupants and passengers, while relevant public authorities are expected to provide adequate litter bins in public places.
Emmanuel-Dangari said the Kaduna Field Office of NESREA had been operating since 2013, combining public sensitisation with enforcement of environmental regulations.
According to him, the office had carried out enforcement operations and sealed facilities belonging to operators found to have violated environmental requirements.
He said the agency was also working with faith-based organisations, market associations, civil-society groups, sister government agencies and other stakeholders to educate residents about proper waste disposal.
NESREA officials, he said, regularly visit mosques, churches, markets and other public places to sensitise citizens on environmental responsibilities.
The agency has also designated Thursdays for environmental sensitisation activities by its field offices and headquarters.
In Kaduna, Emmanuel-Dangari said NESREA had collaborated with the Kaduna Environmental Protection Authority on several occasions to promote environmental cleanliness and proper waste management.
He urged Nigerians to regard environmental protection as a collective responsibility rather than something that should be left solely to regulatory agencies.
The coordinator also called for environmental education to extend to children and young people, arguing that behavioural change across age groups was necessary to achieve cleaner communities.
He appealed to citizens to cooperate with the government and regulatory agencies, saying widespread compliance with environmental laws would contribute to a cleaner and healthier country.
NESREA itself states that its responsibility includes enforcing environmental standards, regulations, rules and policies and promoting a cleaner and healthier environment through both individual and collective responsibility.
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