Abuja, Nigeria — In a decisive move to safeguard public health and environmental integrity, the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has sealed 29 facilities across the South-West zone for violating ecological laws and polluting the environment.
According to a statement by Mrs Nwamaka Ejiofor, Assistant Director of Press at NESREA, nine of the sealed facilities are located in Ogijo, Ogun State—a community previously spotlighted in TheDigger’s investigative report titled “Toxic Waste in Ogun Threatens Respiratory, Kidney Health“, published on September 8, 2025.
That report exposed the hazardous practices of battery recyclers in Ogijo, linking toxic slag and lead contamination to rising cases of respiratory distress and kidney disease among residents.
The latest enforcement action by NESREA confirms and validates TheDigger’s findings, with Director-General Prof. Innocent Barikor stated that “tests have revealed the presence of lead in residents, resulting in illnesses and deaths.”
He emphasised that the sealed facilities—including Vedanta Metal Industries, Metal Manufacturing Nigeria Ltd, and Laralek Ultimate Ltd—failed to adopt best available technologies and violated the newly enacted National Environmental (Battery Control) Regulations 2024.
Additional offences cited include: Absence of Environmental Audit Reports and Impact Statements; lack of fume treatment plants, indiscriminate discharge of black oil, failure to conduct blood-lead tests on staff, poor slag management, manual battery processing and non-compliance with the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Programme.
Barikor noted that despite multiple stakeholder interventions, the facilities showed “total disregard for environmental laws,” posing a grave threat to both the ecosystem and human health.
