In an effort for public health advocacy, 300-level Law students of Gombe State University have called on the state government to intensify efforts against open defecation through strict criminal sanctions and enforceable legislation.
The students made this call during a public sensitisation event organized by United Nations Children’s Fund Bauchi Field Office in collaboration with the Gombe State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency at the Teachers Resource Center, Kwami.
The forum was designed to raise awareness on the dangers of open defecation and promote efficient faecal sludge management (FSM) strategies across the state.
Speaking on behalf of the students, Zainab Sani, noted that open defecation is not just a matter for the environment and health but a matter for justice.
“The United Nations in 2010 declared that sanitation, clean water and a clean environment is a basic human right, thus every citizen has a right to a clean environment, clean water supply…so when we talk about open defecation and these unsanitary things our people engage in, it is a violation of human right and human dignity,” Sani stated.
Our correspondent reports that the proposed bill, tagged Gombe State Open Defecation Prohibition and Public Sanitation Bill, 2025 seeks to criminalise open defecation, mandates the construction of public toilets in strategic locations, prescribes fines and community service for violators, and establishes an Open Defecation-Free (ODF) Fund to support its implementation.
According to the proposed legislation; Individuals who violate the law may face fines up to ₦20,000 or be sentenced to a month of environmental sanitation service.
Others are; Corporate bodies and institutions could be fined up to ₦200,000. Sanitation Enforcement Officers will be empowered to ensure compliance across the state.
In his keynote address, the Gombe State Commissioner for Water, Environment and Forest Resources, Saidu Fawu, commended RUWASSA and UNICEF for the initiative, noting that safe and climate-smart faecal sludge management aligns perfectly with the state’s development agenda.
Fawu added, “Many of our communities rely on onsite sanitation systems such as pit latrines and septic tanks, while these systems provide basic sanitation services, they also pose serious public health and environmental risk, when not properly managed.
“Overflowing pits, indiscriminate disposal and ground water contamination are not mere inconveniences, they are threat to human dignity, water security and health of our entire population.”
He added that the media dialogue is timely and commendable as it seeks to inform and educate, mobilise and inspire action across all levels, from policy makers to service providers and community leaders.
On his part, a representative of UNICEF, Nandam Dawop, the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Officer for the Bauchi Field Office emphasised that faecal sludge management must be backed by policy guidelines as a more sustainable toilet ending Open Defecation in Gombe State.
