Ocha Brigade Warns Against Violating Environmental Laws — We Will Be Decisive on Offenders, Says MD Anere

Managing Director of Ocha Brigade ,Comrade Celestine Anere

The Managing Director of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (Ocha Brigade), Comrade Celestine Anere, has declared that the agency will adopt a firm and uncompromising stance in enforcing Anambra State’s environmental laws, stressing that no offender will be spared or entertained with pleas.

Anere made this known on Thursday evening while briefing journalists at the Ocha Brigade Corporate Headquarters in Awka on the agency’s renewed commitment to ensuring a cleaner and healthier environment across the state.

According to him, the Brigade has recruited an additional 200 personnel to strengthen the existing workforce and to ensure more effective, front-line enforcement of environmental regulations throughout Anambra State.

Anere expressed serious concern over the growing practice of constructing residential and commercial buildings without proper catchment pits, leading many property owners to channel wastewater onto public streets an act he described as harmful, illegal, and dangerous to public health and infrastructure.

He reiterated that Anambra State environmental laws prohibit the discharge of any type of wastewater from private premises into public spaces.
“In Anambra, it is a clear environmental offence to channel water outside your compound into public roads or drains. The law requires every household to provide an adequate catchment pit within their compound. Passing out any form of wastewater from kitchens, bathrooms, compounds, or businesses—onto public areas is illegal,” he said.

The Ocha Brigade boss further announced that the agency will clamp down on all car-wash businesses operating without approved facilities for wastewater management.
“We will stop all car-wash operations that cannot prove they have functional catchment pits. It is an offence to discharge water from car-wash activities into public spaces. Such practices destroy our roads and create environmental hazards. The era of setting up a car-wash at any available corner and damaging infrastructure built by the Governor must end immediately,” he declared.

He added that the Brigade is issuing a 48-hour notice, effective from Monday, to all car-wash operators and Ndi Anambra. Public announcements will also be made through radio and other media platforms to educate residents.
“We are not taking anyone by surprise; we have been warning them for the past three years,” he noted.

Anere also disclosed that the Brigade will begin the removal of shanties, illegal structures, and all buildings erected on drainage channels across the state, insisting that such developments obstruct water flow, worsen flooding, and violate state planning and environmental laws.

He appealed to residents to cooperate with the Ocha Brigade to achieve the vision of a clean, safe, and environmentally responsible Anambra State, urging communities, businesses, and households to comply with environmental regulations and partner with the government in sustaining public health standards.