Panic as contractor dumps expired malt in Ogun community

Residents of Ogbere in the Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State have raised the alarm over the dumping of expired malt extract, an ingredient used by brewers, in the community.

The residents stated that the persons that dumped the “suspected toxic substance” were led by a contractor hired by Guinness Nigeria Plc to dispose off the extract.

They said the culprits came into the community in the night sometime last week with four trucks carrying 50 drums of the expired substance.

An indigene of Ogbere, Mr. Bolanle Falujo, told our correspondent that the culprits intended to bury the 200 drums in the community before they were apprehended.

“We woke up to find the drums. However, we were lucky that those, who dumped them there, were caught and handed over to the police. Their intention was to bury the waste before anybody woke up. They came in with escavators,” he said.

Falujo said a community environmental officer was suspected to have led the culprits into the neighbourhood.

He said, “If it was a legitimate business, why did they come in at night?”

An environmental consultant, who is also an indigene of the community, Mr. David Ogunsawo, said the incident was in contrast with efforts of government at all levels to ensure environmental sustainability and well-being of Nigerians.

According to him, if not properly handled, the waste can get into nearby streams and contaminate the community’s water source.

“With the enactment of various environmental laws and policies, it behoves individuals and organisations, particularly wastes generating concerns, to develop and implement waste management strategies in line with global best practices. The issue at hand represents an abuse of national laws and height of impunity. It is a major setback to environmental sustainability in Nigeria,” he said.

Ogunsawo said the tenet of global best practices and sustainable environmental responsibility were for industries to develop a proactive environmental management plan.

“The decision of the culprits to dump such toxic waste in an environmentally sensitive ecosystem, particularly in the rainy season, can be described as a deliberate act of criminality and an injustice to the environment,” he added.

Some residents of the community told PUNCH Metro that the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency had visited the community and taken samples of the waste for tests.

The Commissioner for Environment, Ogun State, Mr. Bolaji Oyeleye, said the state government had stepped into the matter.

He said, “The drums contain malt extract and they belong to Guinness. The extract has expired and needed to be disposed. We have handled a similar project for them early this year, but I think they wanted to circumvent the state government because we will charge them.

“That is why they used that quack means of disposal. We were supposed to give them a certificate of disposal, but the contractors tried to make money for themselves by cutting corners. They tried to bury the drums, but we got wind of it. The local government area is also involved.

“There is no cause for alarm; the content of the drums is not toxic and we are supposed to handle it at the state level, and now we have taken it over.”

The Director of Corporate Relations and Company Secretary, Guiness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Sesan Sobowale, told our correspondent that the disposal of the waste was not illegal, but collaboration between the company, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, and an environmentalist.

He added, “In November 2015, NAFDAC imposed a fine of N1bn on Guinness and one of the complaints was that we were disposing raw materials without involving them.

“Therefore, we reached an agreement to involve them. So, this disposal in Ogbere was a collaboration to ensure that there is no damage to the environment. The site was local government approved. But the problem was that the permit was not properly handled.

“Even before now, when we didn’t involve NAFDAC, we followed due process so that people won’t exhume the waste and use it for production.”

Sobowale said all the parties involved were currently in a discussion to address the “breakdown in communication.”

The spokesman for the Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, was contacted three times, and each time, he promised to get back to our correspondent.

He had yet to do so as of press time.