By Edu Abade
The Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) has urged the Ogun state government to declare the Ogijo community in Sagamu Local Government Area a “contaminated site,” following an investigation by the New York Times and a non-profit newsroom – The Examination, which revealed that indiscriminately sited lead-recycling factories have caused widespread lead poisoning in the community.
Besides the soil and air pollution in the environment, the investigation released on November 18, 2025 showed that factory workers operate under hazardous working conditions resulting in dangerously high Blood Lead Levels.
All the tested workers were found to be poisoned, with one recording a level as high as 38 micrograms per deciliter, considered severely elevated by World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.
In a statement issued in Lagos, RDI laid the blame for the contamination of the environment solely on the door steps of the Ogun state government, insisting that that decades of poor urban planning, coupled with lack of monitoring and effective regulation of the operations of the lead recycling plants have culminated in a dangerous interaction between the surrounding communities and dangerous chemicals from the recycling firms.
Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, who spoke on Television Continental on Monday December 1, 2025, said the state government needed to confirm the “alleged lead poison” and would test 500 people to arrive at its own conclusions.
Executive Director of RDI, Philip Jakpor said, “While the Ogun state government is still describing the findings in Ogijo as an allegation, we must not lose sight that the abdication of responsibility by the state in regulating the activities of the recycling firms is the cause of the entire crisis in the first place.
“The flurry of face-saving activities that they have been embarking upon since the New York Times report was published is like trying to shut the barn after the horse has escaped.”
Jakpor alerted that the scale of the lead poison may be far worse than has been reported, even as he demanded that the state government should ensure that the environment and health audits it is carrying out must be extensive, thorough, transparent and should be made public.
“The Ogijo residents and affected workers in the identified firms deserve nothing but a comprehensive health and environment audit. We demand that the tests adhere to the global best standard as anything short of that will not be accepted.”
He pointed out that the shutting down of the operations of seven lead-acid battery recycling firms in the community was a good move, but urged the state government to reject any pressure that would deter it from carrying out a detailed investigation of the situation in the community.
“Ogijo should be declared a contaminated site. We have said it time and again that the quest for profits at the expense of the people will always lead to systemic dangers, environmental degradation, a weakening of social structures, and in this case, pure disregard for human life and safety.
“Officials of agencies of government found culpable of dereliction of duty in relation to monitoring and regulating the activities of the identified firms should be appropriately sanctioned. In the same vein, firms found culpable of willful exposure of Nigerians to hazards in their production processes and management of waste must be shut and made to bear the full cost of the fallouts,” Jakpor insisted.
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