The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, shut down 21 facilities, which include housing estates as well as quarry sites, in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, for several environmental violations.
According to NESREA Director General, Prof. Innocent Barikor, who spoke to a group of journalists briefly after the exercise at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, his organisation decided to seal the facilities after several failed attempts, both in writing and in person, to resolve the matter.
He said the agency doesn’t see the action as a punitive measure to witch-hunt the violators; rather, it is intended to reduce the negative environmental impacts of the facilities’ operations and also serve as a deterrent to enforcing regulatory compliance.
“During the enforcement exercise, it was evident that many of these facilities failed the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) test, as structures were seen being built on flood plains and in other environmentally hazardous areas. This must stop,” said Prof. Barikor, “especially in the real estate sector, which he stated has continued to operate in deviance and violation of NESREA regulations.”
The agency’s chieftain also disclosed that there were so many public complaints against these facilities and officials of NESREA carried out an investigation, after which notices of compliance concerns were issued to these facilities.
However, they failed to adhere to the provisions of the environmental laws, hence the action by the agency, he stated.
Prof. Barikor went on to say that several of the facilities failed to do an EIA prior to the start of their projects, as required by law.
“The negative impact of the construction and quarrying activities within FCT has led to public outcry by the host communities where these facilities exist. In addition, the environment is exposed to various forms of environmental degradation and disaster, such as flooding, erosion, and burrow pits,” he asserts.
The affected facilities sealed are as follows: White Avenue Real Estate, Lugbe; CCECC-FIRS, Abuja; Mo Mouna Construction, Katampe; Practis Project, Abuja; Belmont Court, Idu; Istrom Construction, Abuja; Mab Global Estate, Idu; Ochacho Real Homes Limited, Idu; Constrix, Idu; Anarock Global Services Limited, Abuja; Quali Trends Nigerian Limited, Abuja; Boked International Limited, Abuja; CCECC at Central Business District, Abuja; and Tim Tali Transport Limited, Abuja.
Others include Matilda Rozi Limited, Abuja; Efedi Homes at Kukwaba District; T’lon Construction and Facilities Management, Abuja; the Cosgrove project of a shopping mall at Wuse II; Cosgrove estate, Central Business District; Tayyib Homes Limited, Lugbe; and Contrix cube, Katampe.
In a similar vein, Mr. Elijah Udofia, Director of Environmental Quality Control, said that the agency has allowed the owners of the impacted facilities ample time since last year to furnish the legally required documents, but they have not done so.
He was even more upset by the quarry operators’ activities, which he said went beyond the prescribed regulations.
“For the quarry pit, the law permits a 3-metre depth, but some of them have gone up to of 25 metres. We have looked into it, and that is why we are doing this today,” Mr. Udofia hinted.
By Etta Michael Bisong, Abuja