Senate Declares Lagos/Ogun Communities’ Lead Contamination a National Public Health Emergency

..Asks NEMA to establish national lead poisoning response and remediation office

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate on Thursday issued a grave warning over what it described as a “widespread and scientifically verified lead-poisoning disaster” devastating Ogijo, a densely populated community between Ikorodu in Lagos State and the Ogun East Senatorial District.

Lawmakers said the situation, traced to years of operations by multiple used lead-acid battery recycling factories, has escalated into a full-scale public health emergency, exposing children, women and factory workers to life-threatening contamination.

Toxic emissions, they noted, have produced long-term health complications that residents have endured “for years without effective intervention.”

The motion was sponsored by Senator Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos East) and Senator Gbenga Daniel (Ogun East).

They described Ogijo as the scene of “an environmental catastrophe of global significance.” Investigations, they said, show contamination levels reaching up to 186 times above internationally accepted safety limits.

Leading the debate, Senator Abiru expressed deep concern over reports of persistent headaches, seizures, abdominal pain, memory loss and cognitive decline among residents, symptoms strongly linked to chronic lead exposure.

He cited verified investigations by The Examination and The New York Times, which confirmed severe lead poisoning through blood tests and toxic soil sampling.

Even more alarming, Abiru disclosed that processed lead from Ogijo had been exported into global supply chains that serve major automobile manufacturers, meaning toxic Nigerian lead was entering international markets while local communities inhaled poisonous fumes.

He said, “Children are dying slowly. Families have lived for years under poisonous smoke and dust, calling for urgent federal intervention.

Abiru acknowledged the recent shutdown of seven factories and the temporary suspension of lead ingot exports by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha.

He stressed that the action was only an initial step. Many operators, he said, continue to deny responsibility, enforcement remains weak, and dangerous exposure persists across the community.

While commending Lagos and Ogun State Governments for early efforts, he emphasised that the Constitution obligates the Nigerian State to protect citizens’ health and ensure a clean and safe environment.

“This is not just an environmental issue—it is a constitutional duty. The lives and futures of children in Ogijo must not be traded for toxic profits,” he said.

He warned that rising global demand for recycled lead, compounded by regulatory gaps, has turned Nigerian communities into “sacrifice zones” where hazardous industries operate unchecked.

Senators across party lines backed the motion, insisting that the Ogijo tragedy must become a defining moment in Nigeria’s environmental and public health governance.

They demanded stringent regulation, strict accountability, and a national commitment to ensuring no community suffers a similar fate.

In a series of far-reaching resolutions, the Senate ordered an immediate national response, including deployment of emergency medical teams by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) for free toxicology screening, blood-lead testing, chelation therapy and long-term treatment of victims.

It also mandated comprehensive environmental remediation by the Federal Ministry of Environment and NESREA to assess soil, groundwater, air and household dust contamination, as well as strict nationwide enforcement of battery recycling and lead-processing standards by the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.

Emergency relief and temporary relocation for severely affected families through NEMA were approved, alongside a national briefing before the Senate Committee on Environment and Solid Minerals by the Ministers of Environment, Health, Solid Minerals, Labour and Employment, and the NESREA Director-General.

The Senate further demanded the establishment of a National Lead Poisoning Response and Remediation Office within NEMA to coordinate clean-up, medical intervention, monitoring and global traceability of exported lead, and directed its Committee on Legislative Compliance to ensure full implementation of all resolutions within six weeks.