By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
The Director General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Prof. Innocent Barikor, has fulfilled his promise to residents of Ogijo, a community in Ogun State, as NESREA seals 9 recycling facilities for environmental pollution.
The ongoing enforcement exercise in the South West Zone of the country has also resulted in the sealing of 20 other facilities in Ekiti, Osun, and Ogun States.
Prof. Barikor said the enforcement exercise was in line with the mandate of the agency to rid the country of activities which undermine environmental quality.
He noted that it had become expedient to take drastic action against non-compliant recyclers in the Ogijo community in Ogun State, as their operations have continued to endanger the environment and lives of the citizens due to the harmful activities of battery and scrap metal recyclers.
Improper disposal of hazardous slag from battery recycling threatens environmental degradation and public health risks from toxic lead content.
Tests have revealed the presence of lead in residents, resulting in illnesses and deaths.
Prof. Barikor stated that the failure of the facilities to adopt best available technology in their operations was in contravention of the National Environmental (Battery Control) Regulations 2024, even as there have been several stakeholders intervention which involved Federal and State Ministries of Environment, NESREA, State Environmental Protection Agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations and development partners in a bid to get the facilities to upgrade their operations to more environmental friendly technology and institute sustainable plan for management of slag and other waste from their processes.
A recent tour of the community revealed total disregard for environmental laws of the land, a clear signal that some of these facilities do not have any intention of complying and their continued operation is a big threat to the health of residents and the environment in which they live.
He stressed that the sealing of the facilities was therefore to protect the lives of vulnerable citizens and put a stop to the operations of the recycling facilities that undermine the law and expose Nigerians to danger.
