The Chairman of the Bayelsa State Environmental Sanitation Authority, Chief Abel Ebifemowei, has said that the board granted pardon to 168 defaulters arrested during last monthly sanitation exercise on April 28.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa on Wednesday, Abel said that henceforth, any defaulter arrested by the authority would face prosecution no matter how highly placed the person might be.

He explained that a total of 168 defaulters were arrested and 11 vehicles impounded during the exercise, saying that most of the arrested persons were apprehended while loitering or hawking during the exercise.

According to the chairman, gone are the days when people will be loitering about during sanitation hours.

Abel said those arrested and the vehicles impounded were however, released after they were cautioned.

The chairman warned that anyone arrested in future sanitation exercises would be made to face the law to serve as deterrence to others, adding that he would not play politics with the health of Bayelsans. NAN