The Lagos State Government has announced the indefinite closure of the Oko Oba Abattoir in Agege due to what it terms a series of unsanitary practices and environmental violations. This includes the discovery of people sleeping in areas meant for livestock.
The decision was announced in a tweet by the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, on Thursday through his official X (formerly Twitter) account.
According to the commissioner, the decision followed an inspection of the facility that revealed multiple breaches of hygiene standards and environmental laws.
“During our inspection of the abattoir facility, we have announced indefinite closure of Oko Oba Abattoir, Agege, over unhygienic practices and violating different environmental laws,” the tweet read.
“The government sent me here, and I’m just giving you a message. I am going to close it down fully. It will be closed until things are done the right way. People cannot be sleeping in animal pens, they can’t be slaughtering animals and discharging them into public drains. When we shut it, someone will sit down and think,” Wahab stated in the video.
Oko Oba Abattoir
Oko‑Oba, formally known as the Lagos State Central Abattoir located in the Agege area of the state is one of the largest meat markets in Lagos that has been operating since 1992. It supplies about 30% of the state’s beef daily with the slaughtering, processing, and distributing various red meats namely cow, goat, ram, even camel.
Repeated Environmental Infractions
The livestock has long been caught up in controversial situations especially environmental pollution as well as selling dead animals to the public as revealed in an FIJ investigation.
In May 2017, Lagos State authorities demolished numerous unauthorized buildings and shanties both inside and around the abattoir to sanitize the complex and remove miscreants. Before then, in April–August 2016, the State Government shut down the ponmo (cow-skin) processing area for using heaps of burning tyres, a practice linked to toxic fumes and severe environmental hazards. In June 2018, authorities also demolished over 500 shanties and illegal structures to improve hygiene standards
