Lagos shuts down shocking illegal Abattoir, contaminated meat seized

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Acting on a whistleblower tip, the Enforcement Squad of the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, in collaboration with operatives of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), conducted a raid on Wednesday.

During the operation, the team uncovered and shut down an illegal abattoir operating within a private residence on Succo Road, directly opposite the RRS Barracks and LASTMA Yard in Oko Oba, Agege.

The covert operation led to the arrest of individuals caught slaughtering animals for public consumption under unhygienic and unauthorised conditions.

Authorities immediately confiscated contaminated meat believed to be from cows and goats to prevent it from entering the Lagos food supply chain.

According to officials, the illegal operation flagrantly defied the closure order placed on the Oko Oba Abattoir and posed significant health and environmental hazards to residents in the area.

“This kind of blatant disregard for public health and sanitation will not be tolerated in Lagos State,” a spokesperson for the Ministry stated.

“Every government’s primary responsibility is the protection of lives and property, and we will not shirk that responsibility.”

The Ministry reiterated its commitment to ensuring that only certified and sanitary facilities are permitted to handle meat processing in the state, emphasising that unregulated activities such as this undermine public health and threaten the integrity of Lagos’s food system.

Residents were urged to remain vigilant and report suspicious or illegal food handling practices to authorities.

The operation is part of the state’s broader “Cleaner Lagos, Greater Lagos Rising” initiative, which seeks to enforce environmental and public health regulations across all communities.