Landlady accuses soldier of dumping hazardous wastes in Ogun compound
An overseas-based Nigerian landlady, Mrs Olubunmi Osanyinbi, has accused a military officer, one Col Philips Emmanuel, of polluting her house in Sango, Ado-Odo Local Government Area of Ogun State, with waste materials dumped there for about three years.
Osanyinbi, who spoke to PUNCH Metro on Sunday, explained that she had, through one Pastor Gboyega, sold a plot out of her two plots of land to Emmanuel having been told that he was a member of the Winners Chapel, just like herself.
She said, “I met this Col Philips Emmanuel through Pastor Gboyega in 2021. Pastor Gboyega said the man was interested in buying one of the two plots (of land) and that he wanted to use it for a small-scale business.
“Pastor Gboyega said Philip is a member of the Winners Chapel like myself and I thought that I should be able to trust him, and so I agreed to sell the land to him.”
Osanyinbi however alleged that Philips betrayed the trust and confidence that she had in him by messing up her house with the waste he kept on his plot of land but which had spilled to her plot after being beaten repeatedly by the rain.
She said, “It was even one Mr Adeleye, living in one of the buildings on my own plot, that did a video to alert me to this incident. He later had to move out because he said he could no longer endure stench coming from the waste product.
“We have been on this matter since 2021 but Philips has continued to promise to evacuate this waste but has not kept his word. He only removed part of it, and even after that, he had brought more of it into the compound.
“He thinks because he is a military officer, he is above the law. I really want the government to intervene so that he can move those things away. The landlord association is not happy about this environmental pollution as well”
In his reaction while speaking with our correspondent, Emmanuel however said that the materials in question were not toxic waste but recyclable materials used in the production of diapers.
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He explained that he bought the plot of land to keep the recyclable materials pending the time they would be moved to the recycling plant.
Emmanuel said, “This issue arose as a result of negligence on the part of the person I hired to monitor the offloading of these materials…
He left things to degenerate despite being paid but he wasn’t doing what he was being paid to do.
“So, after getting wind of all of this, I began the evacuation of these things last year. He moved about 50 trucks and I even made the video of it for Mama to see.
“However, rain prevented us from moving the rest. In fact, I paid N2m for those helping with the evacuation. Our intention was to move the rest when the rain subsided. So, we approached a government dumpsite called Prorata to keep these things but we were later told that the government had locked up the place for now.
“We equally tried to get a private place but the people over there are fighting. So, it is not as if I am behaving or as if I am above the law. I won’t do that because there is a law governing us in the country.”
He stated that it was not true that the occupants of the house moved out because of the situation but “rather it was because the rent of the house was increased and these people couldn’t afford it.
“The government officials have also come around and affirmed that the recyclable materials are not toxic.
“And I am saying that between now and next month, that’s about two months from now, I believe God that we would have been able to move these things away. I am trusting God that the government would have opened their dumpsite so that we can move those things there. I am also talking to someone who is also assuring me that he would be of help, so I am banking on these two options to get this challenge resolved in the next two months.
When contacted for a reaction, the Commissioner for Environment, Mr Ola Oresanya, said that he was not aware of the incident but that his office would definitely investigate the alleged environmental pollution.
Oresanya said, “I am not aware of this case, but I will investigate it and ensure the needful is done. I don’t want to pre-empt if the waste is hazardous or not. I will talk with the directors or those who are specialists in such a thing so that by the time you are quoting me, you will do so rightly.”
