BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
Irian Ola, an old man said to be selling used baby diapers, sanitary pads, napkins, and female under wears picked from refuse dumps in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has allegedly been arrested and handed over to the police.
Ola was caught recently when passersby noticed his activities at a refuse dump along Obi Street, behind Saint Theresa’s Catholic Church, Abakaliki, where he was reportedly scavenging for used pads.
When the suspect was accosted, it was learnt that the people found in the sack which he was carrying items like used pants, braziers, pads and baby diapers.
Ola, who is from Ondo State, according to findings by our correspondent, lives at Ogbe Hausa in Abakaliki.
Asked during an interview with our correspondent why he took to selling the used items, the man who looked weak and sick when engaged, said that he made a living from them.
He disclosed that he had been in the trade for the past two years but refused to mention those patronizing him and the specific things that the items were used for.
A witness, Okoro Ewa, said that the people decided not to beat him because he looked fragile and old. But, according to him, they seized his bags and set them ablaze before handing him over at the Ekumenyi Police Division for investigations.
Ewa said that many people believed that those buying such items use them for ritual purposes. This, he alleged, accounted for the increasing cases of infertility among married women.
The Commissioner for Environment in the state, Richard Nnabu, said that the ministry would intensify efforts by promptly evacuating refuse across the state in a bid to guide against such an occurrence.
He assured the people that evacuation of refuse would be more affective when the official dump site at Umuoghara Ezza North Local Government Area of the state becomes fully operational.
However, the Commissioner said that there was a little that the Ministry could do to stop the activities of scavengers who picked disused materials from dump sites.
He assured the public that a taskforce would be inaugurated soon to guide against indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the state.
“If refuse was dumped at the right place at the right time,” he said evacuation would be done without exposure to risks.
On Ola’s arrest, he said, “This is quite unfortunate. The world has turned into something terrible. On our part as a ministry, we shall intensify efforts to evacuate refuse in good time. The major problem that we have presently is the uncivilized attitude of scavengers who tear open bags of refuse in a bid to pick metals and plastics. But, I am really very worried about the new development where suspected ritual scavengers move into the state.
“I am sure that man is not alone in the business. It calls for more carefulness. Everyone should learn henceforth not to dispose such items any how; including used shoes and clothes. It is also time to get personal clipper for barbing at home so that after barbing you can set your cut hairs ablaze by yourself.
“We, as a ministry, shall set up a taskforce to check indiscriminate dumping of refuse at odd hours. When refuse is dumped at the stipulated time, it would be appropriately evacuated and no scavenger would be able to pick used sanitary pads, napkins, baby diapers as being
alleged.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ebonyi State Command, Odah Loveth, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said that no report of an arrest of a suspected ritualist had reach her office.
