Environmental Health Officers and Prosecution Duties for the Enforcement of Public Health Law in Anambra State, Southeast Nigeria: Problems and Prospects

This field research work interrogated the socio- demographic characteristics of Environmental Health Officers working in Anambra state located in Southeast zone of Nigeria; and the assessment of their pre-engagement training courses in terms of extent of exposure to court processes and prosecution skills and knowledge. The study also interrogated the current level of competences of Environmental Health Officers (EHO) in the state with respect to prosecution of public health matters in courts of appropriate jurisdiction and obstacles they encounter in that regard. A sample size of two hundred (200) EHOs constituted the study participants who responded to the questionnaire that was used to collect quantitative data. The systematic sampling technique was adopted in their selection given the availability of a sampling frame in form of Register of Environmental Health Officers in Anambra state kept by Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria (EHOHAN), Anambra State Chapter. The statistical package for the social sciences was used to process data, while the chi-square test statistics was employed to test the hypothesis. The study found among other things, that pre-employment training or studies of EHOs were assessed by EHOs as grossly inadequate in terms of equipping the officers with relevant skills, knowledge and competencies required for effective prosecution of public health matters in courts. The officers have also not benefitted from update trainings or seminars and workshops over the years. Consequently, most of the officers have performed woefully with regards to prosecution of cases upon their employment leading to non abatement of several public nuisances in the state. The study thus strongly recommended that the curriculum for training of EHOs be updated to address the deficiency in the law training. They (EHOs) should be regularly exposed to workshops to update their knowledge and skill in prosecution of public health matters in courts.

Keywords: Environmental Health Officer, Prosecution Duties, Public Health Matters, Nuisances.