News

Benin City’s Slaughterhouses of Neglect, Filth, And Health Hazards

Published

5 months ago

May 16, 2025

By Osehobo Ofure

There are many slaughterhouses, or abattoirs, in Benin City, the Edo State capital, where animals are slaughtered daily for meat meant for public consumption. Some of these abattoirs are owned and operated by local governments, while others are privately managed.

One of the main government abattoirs, located near the swamps of the Ikpoba River, is over 65 years old.

At the abattoir, cows are slaughtered on bare floors, while butchers work without protective gear. With the borehole long out of service, they rely on water from a nearby house to wash animal parts, which often ends up mingling with stagnant pools of blood and dung infested with maggots just a few feet from the slaughter scene.

Waste from the slaughtered animals and their entrails are dumped in heaps nearby, occasionally collected by farmers as manure. The cold room installed decades ago is locked up and remains nonfunctional due to a lack of electricity.

According to Comrade Sunny Omokaro, National President of the National Butchers Employers Union of Nigeria, the abattoir generates about ₦1,000 per slaughtered cow daily for the local government council.

Despite this steady revenue, the facility remains in a state of decay, with the council making no effort to maintain it.

“We have made several representations to the council on this matter without any response beyond empty promises. It is a very pathetic situation,” Omokaro lamented.

Bright Omokaro, a butcher with over three decades of experience, explains the process: “Once the cow is brought in, a Muslim is present alongside a veterinary doctor who inspects and approves the cow for slaughter. The Muslim offers prayers and slaughters the cow, after which the veterinary doctor inspects it again before it is butchered.”

On what happens if an animal is declared sick or pregnant, he said, “If it’s sick, we kill and bury it. We even pour chemicals over it to ensure no one exhumes it to sell to unsuspecting members of the public.”

Kingsley Balogun, Secretary of the Butchers, emphasized the critical role of veterinary doctors.

“Without them, meat cannot be slaughtered or sold for public consumption,” he said.

He recounted an incident where a woman complained about meat swelling in her pot.

“When she told us, we asked where she bought it. She admitted it was from the roadside. We told her we couldn’t help because it wasn’t from us. Meat from licensed abattoirs is 90% safe. People should shun roadside meat and illegal abattoirs.”

An official of the Edo State Ministry of Agriculture, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed that local governments have health inspectors trained to approve animal products from slaughterhouses for public consumption.

Comrade Omokaro, who recently toured slaughterhouses in the South-South geopolitical zone, decried the state of these facilities. “I discovered that, except perhaps in Rivers State where the government intervened, there is nothing to write home about. Nationwide, the state of slaughterhouses is appalling. The environment is unhygienic and unfit for what goes on there. A lot of Nigerians would stop eating meat if they saw these places.”

He also criticized local governments in Edo State for arbitrarily issuing licenses to unqualified individuals to operate abattoirs.

“Butchery is a profession. I was under my uncle’s tutelage for seven years, underwent medical tests, and only then was I issued a butcher’s license. These days, it’s not the case. Local governments must assess facilities before licensing them. In Edo, less than 20% of private abattoirs are fit for purpose.”

Omokaro warned about the acute shortage of veterinary doctors. “By law, every animal must be inspected before and after slaughter. But in Edo State, over 70% of animals are not inspected at all because we have only eight veterinary doctors—four in the field and four in the office. This is dangerous. If there were an epidemic today from meat consumption, it would be impossible to trace its source.”

“In the past, veterinary doctors were stationed at abattoirs, waiting to inspect animals before butchering. Ideally, each abattoir should have a resident veterinary doctor. Government must act fast before it’s too late.”

News

Back To School: Lions Club Distributes Educational Materials In Edo Schools

Published

5 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

The Benin Etete Unique and Edo Heritage Lions of the International Association of Lions Club on Friday jointly distributed educational materials to two schools in Benin City as part of the association corporate services to humanity.

The two clubs in District 404-A4 Lions Nigeria, jointly carried out the distribution of notebooks, maths sets, school bags and sandals, pens and other writing materials to excited pupils in Ivbioba Primary School and Oghede-Ivioba Primary School, Ugbighoko, Egor Local Government Area, and Evbiyenava Primary School, in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State.

Themed, Back to School Project, pupils were also engaged in Reading Action Program (RAP) and Spelling Bee Competition, after which winners were presented with special prizes.

In their remarks, Lions Darlington Uyi and Franca Nikoro, presidents of Benin Etete Unique and Edo Heritage Lions Clubs stated that the vision of the Lions International is to serve humanity.

They, therefore, tasked pupils on commitment to their studies in order to attain their fullest potentials in life.

“Emulate Lions in your visions for tomorrow. We have various professionals as members, and if you are committed to your studies, obedient to your parents and teachers, you will attain great heights,” Lion Uyi Darlinton Stated.

“Our vision is to serve, and we are here like we do every period to ensure Literacy is inculcated in pupils to enable them to attain their full potential. It is our earnest desire that you grow into well rounded personalities. Literacy is important in order to actualize that aspiration,” Franca Nikoro stated.

Earlier, in his address, Lion Sir Dede Henry Idemudia, Zone 6A Chairperson, tasked the pupils on good conduct, honour to parents and guardians and obedience to instructions of school authority.

News

NAFDAC Gives Nigerian Food Companies 18 Months To Cut Trans Fats

Published

6 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has set an 18-month grace period, effectively giving food companies until early 2026 before facing full enforcement of regulations to eliminate industrially produced Trans-Fatty Acids (TFA).

The initiative, launched as a comprehensive strategy and roadmap for TFA regulation, moves Nigeria from simply having the policy to enforcing its world-class standard: a regulatory limit of no more than two grams of industrially produced trans fat per 100 grams of total fat or oil.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, emphasised that the roadmap moves the country beyond policy creation to aggressive enforcement and implementation.

This was contained in the NAFDAC DG’s keynote speech posted on the agency’s official X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.

Adeyeye stressed the moral imperative of the Agency’s mission.

“The removal of industrially produced trans fats from the food chain is not only a technical achievement, but a moral imperative.

“Eliminating industrially produced trans fats is possible, achievable, necessary, and urgent,” Adeyeye stated, calling for national collaboration.

The moratorium period is designed to allow manufacturers to exhaust existing stock with outdated labels and reformulate their products to comply with the legal limit.

NAFDAC’s action targets a dangerous dietary risk factor strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke, and premature death globally.

Adeyeye emphasised the significance of the move beyond technical compliance, noting, “The removal of industrially produced trans fats from the food chain is not only a technical achievement, but a moral imperative.”

This aggressive step builds upon Nigeria’s existing reputation; the country was recognised by the World Health Organisation in 2023 for adopting best-practice TFA elimination policies.

The new roadmap is key to securing WHO validation of Nigeria’s full TFA elimination programme, establishing the nation as a regional leader in public health interventions.

News

Mohbad’s Father Urges Lagos AG To Prosecute Wife, Nurse, Others

Published

7 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Joseph Aloba, the father of late singer Mohbad, has urged the Lagos State government to initiate criminal proceedings against individuals named in the coroner’s inquest into his son’s death.

Mohbad passed away on September 12, 2023, following an injection administered by auxiliary nurse Feyisayo Ogedengbe.

Despite being buried the next day, public outcry and ongoing investigations led to the exhumation of his body on September 21, 2023, for an autopsy.

In a letter dated October 3 and addressed to the attorney general of Lagos State through his lawyers, Aloba demanded that criminal charges be filed against those indicted within 14 days.

“Specifically, we refer to persons indicted by the coroner’s verdict hereunder: Miss Ogedengbe Fisayo, indicted for unlawful medical practice and gross medical negligence; and Mrs. Omowunmi Aloba, indicted for negligence,” the letter reads.

“This includes Ibrahim Owodunni, a.k.a. Prime Boy, and others who either facilitated the invitation of the auxiliary nurse or refused to take him promptly to a recognised medical facility for treatment.”

Mohbad’s father said he was concerned that despite the coroner’s clear verdict, no prosecutorial steps had been taken against those indicted nearly three months after the judgment.

He asked the attorney general to exercise prosecutorial powers within the 14 days, or, in the alternative, grant him and his legal team a fiat to prosecute the matter on behalf of the state.

“Our Client, as a bereaved father desirous of ensuring that justice is done and seen to be done, is deeply concerned that notwithstanding the clear indictments contained in the Coroner’s Verdict, no prosecutorial steps have been taken against the aforementioned persons since the delivery of the Verdict on 11th July, 2025,” the letter reads.

“The judicial observations amount to clear indictments warranting the prosecution of the said individuals in order to give full effect to the Coroner’s findings and recommendations, and to ensure that justice is manifestly and adequately served in this matter.

“We request that you exercise your prosecutorial power on the above subject matter within 14 Days Next, in view of the high sensitivity of this matter and the public attention and outrage it has generated.”

In October 2023, Naira Marley and Sam Larry were arrested over allegations linking them to Mohbad’s death, but were released on bail after five weeks in detention.

By February 2025, a magistrate court cleared them of any involvement in the singer’s demise.