Follow @9jaLife The unusual and the unexpected happened in Osun State last Tuesday when an agency of the state government, the Osun Waste Management Agency (OWMA) arrested and detained five goats. The goats were detained for allegedly roaming around the Dele-Yesa area of Osogbo, the state capital. The action of the agency was described as uncommon in the history of the 22 year old state, as it has never been recorded that animals in the past were arrested either by the Police or any agency of the state government. The arrest was for violating the state environmental laws which prohibit rearing of pet animals in residential areas. They were thus detained at the custody of OWMA at the state headquarters of the agency located at the Gbongan/Ibadan road, Ogo Oluwa, Osogbo. Sunday Sun learnt that three of the animals spent five days while two spent more as their owners did not show up in time to claim them. The agency believed that even though goats are lesser animals, they should not urinate or defecate within the residential premises, and the offences the animals committed "knowingly" or unknowingly, ran fowl of the provisions of the state laws. Article 101, cap 2 of the 2002 Laws of Osun State states that "No bird or animal shall be allowed to stray to any road or public place or urinate or defecate in any public place in the state." It is the section of the laws of the state the goats violated, hence their subsequent arrest and prosecution by the agency of government responsible for sanitation and environmental protection in the state. The goats, according to the Director of Environmental Management and Sanitation in the state Waste Management Agency, Mr. Henry Ogunbanwo were arrested in the early hours of the day by officers of the agency who stormed the area to inspect the level of compliance of residents of the area to earlier instructions to keep their goats and other pet animals in the cage. The goats who fell victims of the government's policy were arrested after they had defecated and urinated in the presence of their owners. Ogunbanwo who said his agency had earlier carried out a sensitization [...]
