The National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has sent 15 vessels carrying hazardous materials into Nigeria back to their countries of origin.
NESREA is the foremost environmental enforcement agency of the Federal Government saddled with the responsibility of enforcing all environmental laws, guidelines, policies, standards and regulations in the country.
It prohibits processes and use of equipment or technology that undermines environmental quality and enforces compliance with provisions of all international environmental agreements, protocols, conventions and treaties to which Nigeria is a signatory.
The agency’s Director General, Prof. Aliyu Jauro, announced this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja.
The NESREA boss said the vessels were laden with chemicals and electronics harmful to the environment.
He cautioned that government would not allow any importer to turn Nigeria into a dumping ground for hazardous materials.
“It is allowed to import electronics into Nigeria, but such electronics must be functional and safe. Nigeria is not a dumping ground where any waste can be allowed in.
“Most of the items arriving in Nigeria are not good and don’t function well. So, only those that are functional and are safe are allowed to be discharged. People are able to bring hazardous items into Nigeria because the country’s borders are porous.
“As an agency, we test imported equipment to ensure that they are working perfectly and they are safe for the ecosystem,” Prof. Jauro said.
The NESREA boss said particularly disturbing was the importation of used refrigerants and chemicals used in refrigeration that should not be allowed into any society because of their risk levels.
He said some of the chemicals were found to react and deplete the ozone layer, the protective layer that shields the earth from radiation emitted by the sun.
Also, Jauro said NESREA had sealed 160 facilities across the country from 2019 to date for violating environmental rules and regulations.
The agency’s boss said the facilities were initially served notices of compliance concerns, in line with legal provisions, but failed to stop their infractions against the environment.
He said the facilities also failed to comply with the extant environmental laws.
“When I assumed office in 2019, I discovered that the agency did not have any enforcement action for about four years, in spite of the fact that there were lots of breaches.
“One of my major achievements was to resume enforcement activities, and from 2019 to date, we have sealed 160 facilities that violated environmental rules and regulations.
“When we came on board in 2019, there was COVID-19, which spanned almost two years. Yet, we were able to achieve a lot,” Jauro said.
He said the agency had, since 2019, also intensified its compliance monitory activities.
