A pregnant woman, Risi Abdulkareem, has called for justice after allegedly being assaulted by a security operative and forced to make multiple payments during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Abdulkareem, whose experience has attracted attention on social media, said the incident occurred when she visited Oja Oba Market with her sister to purchase items for their mother ahead of a wedding ceremony.
She explained that they had already left home before realising that it was sanitation day but subsequently joined other residents whose movements were restricted by the exercise.
The pregnant woman alleged that after the sanitation period ended, a security operative confronted her over an alleged violation of the exercise's regulations, during which her abaya was partially torn.
She further claimed that she and her sister were initially directed to pay a fine of N2,000 each. However, after making the payments, they were allegedly told that the money had been transferred to the wrong account and were compelled to pay again.
According to her, the repeated payments brought the total amount paid by the two sisters to N6,000.
Abdulkareem has appealed to Nigerians to help her obtain justice, raising concerns over the conduct of personnel responsible for enforcing environmental sanitation regulations and the treatment of residents during the exercise.
Environmental sanitation holds on the last Saturday of every month in Ilorin and other parts of Kwara State, with restrictions on human and vehicular movements between 7am and 10am to enable residents to clean their surroundings.
Reacting to the development, the General Manager of the Kwara State Environmental Protection Agency, Jide Aina, urged residents to observe the monthly sanitation exercise and comply with government directives. However, he did not directly address the allegations of assault and multiple payments.
