Gov Zulum bans indiscriminate felling of trees in Borno

The Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has signed two executive orders to protect the environment and improve public health in the state.

The first order banned the unlawful felling of trees and the second make it mandatory a monthly sanitation exercise in the state.

The governor, who signed the executive orders at the Government House in Maiduguri on Saturday, said the measures were taken in response to the alarming levels of environmental abuse, particularly the unchecked felling of trees.

Zulum said: “Pursuant to the powers vested in me by Section 14 (2) and Section 20 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Felling of Tree Law, Cap 53, Laws of Borno State, 1994, and all other powers enabling me in that behalf, I, Babagana Umara Zulum, the Executive Governor of Borno State, do hereby declare the felling of trees as prohibited forthwith.

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“Therefore, by this declaration, any individual caught unlawfully cutting down trees shall, for a first offence, face a fine of N250,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years. For subsequent offences, the penalty shall be imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or a fine not exceeding N500,000, or both.”

Zulum also signed an executive order granting additional powers to the Sanitation Court and declared the monthly sanitation exercise mandatory.

He warned that first offenders shall be punished with sentences not exceeding two years’ imprisonment and a fine of N100,000 for violating the sanitation order.

“I, Babagana Umara Zulum, do hereby declare the first Saturday of every month as Sanitation Day, forthwith.

“Going forward, those found to have violated this order shall be punished with sentences not exceeding two years’ imprisonment and a fine of N100,000 for first-time offenders. Subsequent offenders shall be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years,” he stated.

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