By Kazeem Ugbodaga
In a coordinated midnight operation, joint operatives of the Nigerian Army and the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) shut down the Oko Oba Abattoir in Agege on Friday.
The exercise, which began at exactly 12:00am, was conducted on the orders of the Lagos State Government following mounting concerns over the abattoir’s compliance with sanitation and public health regulations.
Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, confirmed the development via a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle.
“The joint operatives of the Nigeria Army and Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps initiated the shutdown and surveillance operation of Oko Oba Abattoir, Agege as directed by the state government,” he said.
The Lagos State Government had said it would close down the Oko-Oba Abattoir indefinitely over what it described as appalling hygienic conditions and flagrant violations of environmental laws.
The directive was issued during an unscheduled inspection of the facility on Thursday by Wahab, who expressed deep concern over the unsanitary practices discovered at the abattoir, one of the largest meat processing hubs in the state.
“The government sent me here and I am just giving you a message. I am not going to mince words, we will shut it down fully until things are done in the right way,” Wahab declared, visibly angered by the condition of the facility.
The commissioner lamented the dehumanising conditions under which workers and residents were operating, describing the scene as unfit for both human and animal life.
“People cannot be sleeping in animal pens. It is not going to work. Let us try and do something right,” he said.
“When we shut it, somebody will sit down and think.”
