The senate on Thursday raised concerns over a “widespread and scientifically verified lead-poisoning disaster” affecting Ogijo, a heavily populated community stretching across the Ikorodu axis of Lagos and the Ogun east senatorial district.
On November 28, the Ogun state government shut down seven used lead-acid battery recycling plants in Ogijo, Sagamu LGA, following fears of large-scale lead contamination.
Just two days earlier, an investigative report revealed that residents who tested positive for lead poisoning live within 100 to 500 metres of True Metals Nigeria Limited and Everest Metal Nigeria Ltd, two of the major ULAB recyclers operating in the area.
Lawmakers said the contamination, caused by emissions from multiple recycling factories, has become “a full-scale public health emergency that is silently destroying an entire generation”.
Tokunbo Abiru, who sponsored the motion, described the toxic exposure levels in Ogijo as “an environmental catastrophe of global significance”, noting that laboratory results showed pollution “as high as 186 times the globally acceptable safety threshold”.
He said the accounts from residents were alarming.
“People have complained of constant headaches, abdominal pains, seizures, memory loss and a frightening drop in cognitive function,” he said.
“These are not random conditions; they match, almost word for word, the medical markers of long-term lead exposure.”
Abiru referenced investigations by The Examination and The New York Times, saying he was “deeply disturbed” by findings confirming through blood-lead testing and soil sampling that residents had been “inhaling and ingesting poison for years”.
He also noted that processed lead from Ogijo had found its way into international supply chains.
“Contaminated Nigerian lead is feeding the supply lines of major automobile manufacturers abroad, while the local communities that produced this lead are choking, coughing and dying slowly under toxic smoke and dust,” he said.
He stressed that the human stories were even more harrowing.
“Children are dying slowly. Families have lived for years under poisonous smoke and dust,” he said.
“A mother in the report said her child wakes up screaming at night because of constant headaches. Another talked about sudden convulsions. How many more symptoms do we need before we act?”
Although the federal government has already shut down seven factories and suspended lead ingot exports, Abiru said the effort was “only the first step”.
“Many of the operators deny wrongdoing; enforcement is weak, and the level of exposure remains extreme and unacceptable,” he said.
He added that beyond environmental regulations, “the constitution itself imposes a duty on government to protect citizens’ health,” stressing that “the lives and futures of children in Ogijo must not be traded for toxic profits.”
Gbenga Daniel, co-sponsor of the motion, warned that Nigeria risks creating “sacrifice zones” where companies “operate with impunity because they assume nobody is watching”.
Saliu Mustapha, who seconded the motion, said the situation reflected “how regulatory failure can quickly translate into human tragedy”.
“If the government does not act fast, Ogijo will only be one of many such cases,” he said.
Shuaibu Salisu commended the Ogun state government for providing medical checks and treatment but said border communities like Ogijo “require far more attention than they currently receive”.
“People in these areas are often the first to suffer and the last to be noticed,” he added.
Babangida Hussaini urged wider federal oversight, saying “Ogijo cannot be the only community facing this”.
“If we do not extend monitoring and intervention, we are simply waiting for the next disaster,” he said.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio said he was “deeply moved” by the concerns raised.
“This touches on the lives of Nigerians,” he said.
“By bringing this motion, you are not only exposing the dangers of these operations but reminding us of the sacred duty we owe our citizens. Lead poisoning does not announce itself; it kills silently, slowly, and painfully.”
The motion passed unanimously.
Akpabio directed the committee on legislative compliance to ensure “strict monitoring and timely execution” of the senate’s resolutions and to report back within two months.
The senate mandated federal agencies to launch emergency medical response, environmental cleanup, enforcement of recycling standards, support for severely affected families, and ministerial briefings.
It also ordered the establishment of a National Lead Poisoning Response and Remediation Office to coordinate cleanup, treatment, monitoring, and global traceability of exported lead.