How unhygienic abattoirs plaque community with diseases

Inhabitants of Ikpoba Slope community in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State are finding it difficult to live healthy lives due to the stench of dungs, faeces and other animal wastes from the over 23 abattoirs operating in the area. The residents told Weekend Trust that the stench, alongside smoke from burning cow horn […]

Inhabitants of Ikpoba Slope community in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State are finding it difficult to live healthy lives due to the stench of dungs, faeces and other animal wastes from the over 23 abattoirs operating in the area.

The residents told Weekend Trust that the stench, alongside smoke from burning cow horn and skin, have forced some members of the community to abandon their homes while those still residing there spend daily on drugs to stay healthy.

Residents say they also contend with flies, mosquitoes, rats and sundry insects which pose great danger to their health.

They noted that community members constantly battle with malaria and typhoid, which in some cases result in deaths.

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Our reporter who visited the area noticed cow droppings everywhere, while the river in the community is polluted with clotted blood from constant animal slaughtering.

It was also observed that most of the abandoned houses are occupied by northern youths who are engage in menial jobs.

Speaking to Weekend Trust, they said the air freshener sprayed in their rooms every day is not enough to reduce the stench, a development that has made many inhabitants of the area relocate to other places.

It was observed that there were no proper ways of burning or disposing wastes from the abattoirs coupled with lack of supervision by the supervisory agencies.

There was also no veterinary presence in the area to certify the quality of meat product from the abattoirs or if it is safe for consumption by the community.

Weekend Trust gathered that as a result of the development, the community sued the owners of the abattoirs over environmental pollution, its hazards, as well as security implications of the activities in the abattoirs.

One of the residents, Ken Omusi, said the community’s hope has been dashed by previous governments, as they did nothing to address the environmental pollution in the area.

Omusi, a former youth leader in the community, said “the only hope we have now is the new governor who promised to come to our aid during his campaign.

“The activities of the abattoirs constitute health hazard in our community, and we have lost many people in the community due to these unwholesome environmental practices.

“We have about 26 abattoirs in Ikpoba Slope community slaughtering close to 200 cows daily. The blood, dungs, faeces and carcass are not properly disposed, thereby posing serious health hazard to the community.”

He said they have written several letters to the ministry of health, environment and other government regulatory agencies, but “none has yielded good results.”

“In this community, you can’t take off your shirt because of tsetse fly and mosquitoes both in the day and at night. Eighty percent of our income goes to medication for our families.”

He disclosed that almost on weekly basis, they either lose a child, brother or mother in the community, noting that the major sicknesses in the community are malaria and typhoid-related illnesses.

Omusi explained that in the last 16 years, they have been battling this environmental issue, adding that they have cried to the government on several occasions but to no avail.

He alleged that the government collects N10,000 per cow slaughtered in the area as revenue, adding “once they get that money, they don’t care about the health hazard caused by the activities of the abattoir.”

Omusi further alleged that 90 per cent of the meat from the abattoirs in the area is not good for consumption because they do not follow laid down rules in processing the meat before taking it to the market.

He said most of the indigenes have abandoned their homes and relocated out of the area to better places.

“Now, the community is being dominated by non indigenes,” he said.

Another resident, Justin Issac, said they are worried there might be an outbreak of an epidemic in the area as they inhale all kinds of stench from the abattoirs daily.

“Dung and other waste from the abattoirs litter the streets and the river, making the environment unconducive for us. We buy air fresheners and fragrances on a daily basis.”

He said, “We are tired of complaining. If urgent steps are not taken by relevant authorities to address the pollution, we might have an epidemic to contend with.”

On his part, the acting Okhagele of the community, Osagieduwa Imafidon, said the community is hoping on the new administration for a solution.

“We continuously treat malaria and typhoid, dysentery and diarrhea. Women and children are mostly affected.

“The abattoirs’ owners are not concerned about our health as they always dump cow waste and coagulated blood in the community after their activities.”

He called on Governor Monday Okpebholo to come to the aid of the community by addressing the situation, because they overwhelmingly voted for him.

Speaking to Weekend Trust on the issue, Sunny Omokaro, National President Butchers Employee Union of Nigeria, noted that the abattoirs’ operation in Ikpoba slope and other communities need to be sanitised.

Omokaro, who assumed office as the butchers president barely a month ago, said he is not “happy with what is on ground in the area.”

He said there’s the need for the state government to set up a taskforce comprising butchers, security agents, government officials to sanitise the environment and the operation of butchers and abattoirs.

The president, however, blamed the community, local government and supervisory ministries for the polluted environment and unhealthy slaughtering of animals in the abattoirs in the state.

“The community sold their lands to the abattoirs owners to build, they collected development levies from them and didn’t think of the hazard they were going to cause in future. In Ikpoba slope alone, we have over 23 abattoirs. The number of abattoirs there seems to be more than the number of houses there,” he said.

He alleged that the councils where the abattoirs are located didn’t follow due process in approving land and permit when people applied, adding that they did not visit the area to assess compliance.

“Before council issues license to operators, they must inspect the locations to know whether it is fixable or not, but they don’t do that,” he said.

He said according to the law, the least measurement of land an abattoir should be built on is 100 by 200sqm, noting that out of the over 23 abattoirs in the area, only two or three met the requirements.

Omokaro explained that before an abattoir is approved, there must be site analysis because “it is not good to locate an abattoir in a residential area. Most of the abattoirs have no site analysis and approval.

“My own abattoir is located in Upper Mission close to the river, and it is not in a residential area. It is 100 by 200 and with government’s approval.”

Omokaro assured that the union will commence a total clean up of the abattoirs as an outbreak of disease would be difficult to control.

He noted that most of the meat hawked on the streets of Benin City are not slaughtered at the abattoir as some people, especially in Kara area of Eayen, slaughter cows at peoples’ back yards.

Omokaro called on the government to set up a committee comprising security, medical and veterinary doctors as well as butchers who know the nooks and crannies where these abattoirs are located to stop the unwholesome practices and organise proper ways of disposing wastes.

“The government can even reduce the number of abattoirs and make sure that they are supervised by veterinary doctors, which is not the case currently.”

Reacting, Jude Ekpu, Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry Environment, said abattoirs are being managed by the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and local government council.

He said the ministry of environment is charged with the sanitation of the abattoirs and environment, adding that the ministry has not been lacking in the supervision and inspection of the environment to ensure cleanliness.

“We have an enforcement department that enforces sanitation in the abattoirs and other open and public spaces like markets to ensure cleanliness of the environment.

“We visit the abattoirs regularly and when they default in sanitation, we serve them abatement notices and if they still don’t comply, we serve them quit notices and take them to court to enforce compliance.

“We also expect the communities housing these abattoirs to report to the ministry when they notice anything untoward because we are concerned with the wholesomeness of the meat we consume,” Ekpu said.

He noted that the ministry also monitors the discharge from the abattoir.

He said that before any cow is slaughtered at the abattoirs, it has to be inspected by the ministry of Agric to ensure it is suitable for consumption while the ministry of environment looks at how clean the environment is.