The Lagos State Government has escalated its environmental enforcement efforts by demolishing unauthorized structures at the Oko-Oba Abattoir in Agege, following the facility’s recent indefinite closure amid hygiene violations.
Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, announced via his official X account that personnel from the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) removed makeshift sheds and constructions that obstruct drainage within the abattoir’s premises.
Wahab explained that the clean-up aims to restore proper stormwater flow, curb disease vectors, and improve waste disposal mechanisms. The action aligns with the state’s broader sanitation campaign and follows the government’s decision to shut the abattoir due to unhygienic meat-handling, improper animal waste disposal, and drainage encroachment.
Wahab further described the conditions at the site as “heart-wrenching,” citing instances where livestock pens were repurposed as sleeping quarters for people, and slaughtered animals were processed in hazardous locations such as abandoned gas stations and public streets. He emphasized that the abattoir would remain closed until operators fully comply with environmental and public health standards, noting only about 10 percent of the facility’s mechanized equipment was in use.
Wahab also dismissed allegations that the closure unfolded along religious lines, warning against politicizing public health issues. He affirmed that the government will not yield to blackmail and that enforcement would continue both at the abattoir and surrounding illegal slaughter points.
The demolition forms part of Lagos State’s sustained drive to eliminate unapproved structures and improve infrastructure functionality across the metropolis. It follows the removal of over 1,100 illegal buildings along drainage routes and recent reactivation of routine sanitation sweep exercises aimed at reducing flooding risks and safeguarding public health.
