The demand was issued as a multi-agency team—led by the state’s Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, and comprising experts from the state’s Ministries of Environment and Health, the Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA), and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) — conducted on-site inspections in Ogijo. The inspections were triggered by a now-viral video which highlighted alleged lead poisoning in the area.
In the course of the inspection, authorities ordered the closure of seven battery-recycling factories operating in Ogijo. According to NESREA’s recent enforcement actions, multiple such facilities across the community had been sealed for violating the stipulations of the National Environmental (Battery Control) Regulations, 2024 — including a lack of environmental impact documentation, absence of fume-treatment systems, inadequate waste (slag) management, manual breaking of used lead-acid batteries, and failure to carry out mandatory blood-lead testing for workers.
The lead compounds produced by these refineries — often exported as lead ingots — were reportedly bound for global markets, supplying recycled lead to vehicle-battery manufacturers abroad.
In a public statement, Commissioner Oresanya sought to calm the fears of Ogijo residents while promising transparency. He said the state government will conduct a comprehensive “Health and Process Audit” of the closed industries, testing for lead contamination in the soil, air, water bodies, and among human populations. He also committed to publicly releasing the findings and scrutinising the testing methodology behind earlier reports that first triggered public alarm.
The governor’s call for a moratorium on lead-ingot exports — alongside the shutdown of polluting facilities — reflects growing alarm over the unregulated battery-recycling industry, which investigations have linked to dangerous levels of lead in the blood of residents living within 100–500 metres of the plants.
The move signals a decisive intervention by both state and federal regulatory agencies in an industrial cluster long criticised for prioritising profit over public health and environmental safety.
