Senators called for urgent medical interventions, strict regulatory enforcement, and a coordinated national response.
The Senate on Thursday resolved to summon four ministers over the reported unsafe working conditions and residents' contamination by lead poisoning in Ogijo, a community that borders Lagos and Ogun States, caused by the operations of used lead-acid battery recycling factories in the area.
Those summoned are the Ministers of Environment, Balarabe Lawal; Health, Mohammad Pate; Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake; and Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi.
They are to appear before the Senate Committees on Environment and Solid Minerals to explain the actions their ministries have taken on the national clean-up strategy, the implementation timelines given to industries, and the compliance framework established to monitor recycling operations across the country.
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The resolution was sequel to a motion jointly sponsored by Lagos East Senator, Adetokunbo Abiru and Ogun East Senator, Gbenga Daniel, during the plenary. Mr Abiru presented the motion.
PREMIUM TIMES/The Examination report that led to the summons
PREMIUM TIMES and The Examination, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates global health threats, had published a two-part investigation that revealed unsafe working conditions and widespread lead contamination in Ogijo.
Since the report was published, federal and state ministries, departments and agencies of government responsible for upholding labour and environmental laws have begun taking action after about a decade of poor regulatory oversight.
On Monday, 24 November, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, led her team to seal up True Metals Nigeria Limited and Phoenix Steel Mills Limited.
During an inspection of True Metals, the battery-recycling plant at the centre of the investigation, the minister said she found workers operating in hazardous and dehumanising conditions.
On 27 November, the Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, led a combined team of experts from the Ministries of Environment and Health, OGEPA, and NESREA, to Ogijo and ordered the closure of seven lead recycling factories.
Earlier in September, NESREA announced the sealing of nine lead recycling factories, after it received a copy of the soil and blood test results commissioned by The Examination and prepared by STRADev, a non-governmental environmental health organisation.
Last week, the Ogun State Government ordered the shutdown of seven Used Lead-Acid Battery (ULAB) recycling facilities operating within the Ogijo community.
Motion by lawmakers
Mr Abiru, while presenting his motion, raised concerns about the activities of used lead-acid battery recycling factories in the area, noting that their presence over the years had caused persistent headaches, abdominal pains, memory loss, seizures, cognitive decline, and developmental delays in children, symptoms associated with chronic lead exposure.
"Residents have for several years complained of persistent headaches, abdominal pains, loss of memory, seizures, cognitive decline, and developmental delays in children-symptoms strongly associated with chronic lead exposure," he said.
The senator also acknowledged the PREMIUM TIMES and The Examination report, noting that the findings, showing toxic fumes from melted batteries blowing directly into the community and a high number of residents testing positive for lead poisoning, were deeply disturbing.
He also highlighted how global demand for recycled lead had increased reliance on Nigerian supply chains, while poisonous smoke and dust are affecting homes, schools, markets and children's playgrounds.
Mr Abiru said that despite years of community outcry, smelter furnaces continued operating, discharging toxic fumes from melted batteries directly into surrounding neighbourhoods.
He stated that he was deeply disturbed by independent testing commissioned by The Examination and The New York Times, which revealed the scale of poisoning through both blood analysis and soil toxicity sampling.
Mr Abiru, therefore, urged the Senate to summon the four ministers to brief relevant committees on national clean-up strategies, compliance monitoring, and enforcement actions.
He also requested that the Senate mandate the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to deploy an emergency response team to the community to provide adequate treatment for affected residents, and that NESREA conduct a detailed environmental assessment of the soil, groundwater, air, and impacted households.
The senator further urged the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to enforce strict compliance standards for battery recycling and lead-processing operations.
He also called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide emergency relief, including protective kits, food support, clean water interventions, and temporary relocation assistance for residents of contaminated households.
Additionally, Mr Abiru proposed the creation of a department within NEMA to be known as the National Lead Poisoning Response and Remediation Task Force, which would coordinate clean-up efforts, medical interventions, environmental monitoring, and traceability for exported lead.
Debate
Kwara Central Senator, Saliu Mustapha, seconded the motion.
Most senators who contributed to the debate supported the motion.
Ogun Central Senator, Shuaib Salisu, commended the state government for testing residents of the affected community and providing medical intervention for the victims.
Mr Salisu, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), also urged the government to pay greater attention to border communities, particularly regarding issues that affect their well-being.
Jigawa North-West Senator, Babangida Hussaini, called on the federal government and its agencies to extend monitoring and intervention efforts to other parts of the country facing similar challenges, in order to protect Nigerians from industrial hazards.
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Akpabio's response
Responding, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, referenced a similar case in his community in Akwa Ibom, where lead poisoning caused the deaths of several people.
"A lot of communities have suffered and died from here. We had a battery industry in my place in the 1980s. And then suddenly we recorded a lot of deaths from the small river, because these things were just seeping into the river. It was very close to the river, and people were drinking from that same river, taking their baths from there and all sorts of things.
"And eventually, life expectancy in that community was not up to 40 years. So, of course, you know, in a rural community, people did not know that this was from lead poisoning," he said.
Mr Akpabio commended the senator for raising the issue in the Senate and bringing it to the attention of lawmakers for legislative intervention.
"Thank you for this all-important motion. This touches on the lives of Nigerians, and what you are doing, by bringing this to the fore, and bringing this to the attention of all Nigerians, you are projecting the injurious aspect of lead operations because this is dangerous to life," he added.
The senate president thereafter put the motion to a vote, and the majority of the senators supported it through voice votes.
After the debate, Mr Akpabio directed the Committee on Legislative Compliance to monitor compliance and report back to the Senate within two months.
