The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has shut the gates of the Sunseed Oil facility in Zaria, Kaduna State, after the plant was found to be belching excessive air pollutants into the environment.
In a statement released on Tuesday, NESREA’s Assistant Director of Press, Mrs Nwamaka Ejiofor, said the decisive action followed repeated complaints over lingering air pollution traced to the facility, a situation that runs foul of the National Environmental (Air Quality Control) Regulations.
She explained that the law places a clear burden on industries to install pollution-control systems and embrace cleaner production methods to reduce environmental damage, obligations the facility allegedly failed to meet.
Ejiofor added that the intensity of the emissions raised red flags, posing an urgent danger to the surrounding ecosystem and the wellbeing of residents in the area, a development that made the closure unavoidable.
According to her, the move sends a strong signal of NESREA’s resolve to enforce compliance and shield the public from the harmful consequences of unchecked industrial activities, including hazardous air pollutants and effluents.
Also weighing in, the Director-General of NESREA, Prof. Innocent Barikor, cautioned industrial operators nationwide to toe the line of environmental laws, warning that any operation that endangers public health or degrades the environment would be met with stiff resistance.
