By Juliet Buna
…The morning the lab received the sample, the sky looked calm and clear, with light harmattan in the air.
Inside the lab, the small container on the table contains the black residue of tyres and wires, scooped from the scorched earth just behind HLA Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo State, South-West Nigeria.
It was the odourless evidence of countless small fires that, the over 230 students and teachers say, have turned a place of learning into a place of slow poisoning.
“We need to determine the pollutants in this,” The Chief Executive Officer of De-Image Laboratory Services and Chief Technologist at the Soil Resources Management Department, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Omosuli Abiodun, told this reporter.
“There are heavy metals, lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, acidic compounds… These are not just numbers. They stay in the body. In children, they can damage the brain, the kidneys, and the lungs.”
Outside, at HLA Grammar School, the children do not need a lab to know something is wrong.
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Sixteen-year-old Mariam Olaoye, a Senior Secondary School 2 student of HLA Grammar School, Agodi, Ibadan, Oyo State, South-West Nigeria, is contemplating leaving her school, not because of poor teaching standards or inadequate learning materials, but because of the toxic smoke billowing daily from the Agodi spare parts market, which shares a broken wooden fence with the school.
“The smoke is not good for our health,” Mariam said, her voice tight. “Some students don’t even have nose masks; we use our hijabs to cover our faces. It causes coughing, and it can damage our lungs. There was a time I felt like leaving school, not because the school is bad, but because the environment is dangerous.”
A broken wooden fence separates HLA Grammar School from the bustling Agodi spare parts market in Ibadan, Oyo State, but it offers little protection. At the market’s edge, young men burn tyres and other waste materials while extracting copper and other metals for resale. The practice, carried out openly and frequently, releases thick black smoke laced with toxic chemicals.
While the burn sites pose clear risks to traders and the young men who handle the waste, the more alarming danger falls on the over 230 students and teachers in HLA School who have no choice but to breathe the polluted air daily. Classrooms closest to the fence are frequently engulfed in smoke, forcing teachers to pause lessons or relocate students.
For Victoria Oluwaseye, Mariam’s classmate, the situation is even worse. Her classroom sits just a few metres away from the broken wooden fence that separates the school from the spare parts market.
The proximity means she is often forced to miss classes whenever the smoke becomes unbearable. “The smoke affects us a lot and makes it very hard to breathe,” she said. “We usually wear nose masks in class, but when the smoke becomes too much, we can’t do anything. Sometimes we have to leave the classroom completely.”
When this reporter visited the school on 26 November, 2025, the initial assumption was that it stood at a considerable distance from the pollution source. But commercial motorcyclists directed the reporter to access the school by passing through the Agodi Correctional Centre and then navigating directly through the market, a route that revealed just how closely intertwined the school is with the hazardous environment surrounding it.
Beyond the piles of broken-down car parts, abandoned engines sinking into dark, muddied quicksand, and heaps of decaying waste, the Agodi spare parts market presents a grim picture. Plastic bottles, once transparent, are now blackened by fire, and in the midst of it all, traders sell food and other consumables.
Between the children and the blackened piles of scrap looms an economy of desperation. In the market, young men extract copper from wires by burning the insulation, an old, crude method that releases a cocktail of toxins.
This reporter met ten-year-old Quadri Halim at the market on his way to pack sand for his master. Quadri is an apprentice and also a Primary Four pupil of HLA Grammar School. Unaware of the dangers the thick smoke posed to his health, he spoke confidently about his future amid the fumes emanating from the site. “I want to do this spare parts job when I grow up. I will do freedom and become vast in it,” he said.
When asked about his education, Quadri admitted that he was more inclined toward the work than his schooling, suggesting that daily labour had begun to overshadow his classroom ambitions.
Nearby, among a heap of charred wires, stood one of the traders, Saheed Muheez. Known among the boys as “Egbon,” he was steady and unbothered, reflecting the environment into which young boys like Quadri were gradually being absorbed.
Speaking to this reporter near the spot where wires were being burnt to extract copper, “I have been doing this for 15 years,” Muheez said, wiping oil from his hands on his trousers. “When we remove the wires from cars, we burn them until the covering melts and the copper appears. We sell it to companies that refine it. We make money, sometimes ₦40,000 to ₦50,000, from a small batch. We are not supposed to do this here, but we don’t have a choice. It is our only source of income.”
“We try to burn when the school is closed,” he added, as if that made the smoke less criminal. “But sometimes things happen during school hours. The boys are many and restless.”
When asked if the government gave approval for them to burn the tyres in that vicinity, he smiled and brushed off the question.
A day before this reporter visited the school….
One of the teachers, **Abiodun Oladipupo**, stood outside his classroom, pointing to the charred ground with anger in his voice.
“Young scavengers burnt copper during school hours,” he said, his brows tightening. “I had to send the students away. Just yesterday, I sent some boys home. They were burning copper behind the class. The smoke was too much. I had to pour water on it myself to stop the fire.”
He shook his head slowly in frustration.
“This happens almost every day,” he continued. “We even invited officers from Agodi, Police Station. But so far, no positive change. When these people start their activities, the students will not concentrate again. Some of them even bring used cars and begin breaking them into pieces.”
“In the afternoons,” he said, “they burn copper and rubber. The smoke is unbearable. I remember one day, visitors from our zonal office came. Those boys, as usual, were burning things. We had to quickly buy nose covers for everyone. Imagine that, nose masks in a school, just to breathe.”
He looked around as though searching for someone who could understand the weight of what he had just said.
“Almost every time they burn tyres or copper, we use nose covers. If this continues… it may lead to serious health problems, even kidney issues. We have informed the government. We have informed the Ministry of Environment. Nothing has been done.”
But smoke wasn’t the only threat suffocating the school.
“Almost all the schools here have been exposed to crime,” he continued. “Some of the recent incidents, we believe, “scavengers” were part of it. One of them was even caught. He broke into the school and stole an iron chair. We arrested him and handed him to the police.”
For a moment, he looked away, as though replaying the incident.
“You see them pass during school hours,” he said softly. “And during break time, some of our students discuss with them. We try to disengage them, talk to them, warn them, but what happens after closing hour? We cannot control that.”
“I Couldn’t Sleep After Inhaling It”
Some teachers say the smoke has already affected their health.
***Mrs Adefunke Abdulsalam, who was transferred to the school in 2024, said her first encounter with the smoke sent her to the hospital.
“I couldn’t breathe properly that night,” she recalled. “The doctor asked me what I had inhaled. Since coming here, it has been very tough. When the scavengers burn copper, I cover my mouth or leave the staff room.”
Similarly, ***Adekunle Ibrahim, a newly transferred class teacher, spoke of the daily challenges he faces, “When they burn tyres, it affects me a lot,” he said. “I cannot breathe well, so sometimes I cover my nose with a handkerchief to survive the smoke. Sometimes I have to leave the staff room, go outside, and walk up and down just to feel okay. It affects me because I am allergic to smoke. When the smoke is too much, I start coughing.
“I have had to visit the hospital, where the doctor examined me and asked about my work environment. I told him I am a teacher here and that we have people burning spare parts almost every day. He advised me always to use a nose mask or leave the area when the smoke is heavy.”
He recalled a frightening incident in class:
“One day, I was teaching, and they were burning tyres very close by. I had to leave the classroom because if I had continued, I might faint or something worse could happen. Imagine if a teacher faints, students might panic. I naturally react badly to smoke. I have thought about leaving the school, but a colleague encouraged me. Some teachers cope by using nose covers, but it only reduces the effect; it doesn’t solve the problem. In fact, some teachers have already left the school because of this.”
***Mr Ibrahim also highlighted the impact on students:
“The smoke affects the teaching and learning process a lot. Students often complain they are uncomfortable. Sometimes, people come near the classrooms to smoke cigarettes or Indian hemp. We chase them away, but that is all we can do. The environment is not conducive to learning. I haven’t noticed any reduction in school enrollment since I came, but I believe the smoke has affected comfort and focus.”
The President of the Agodi spare parts market, Alhaji Waheed Gbolagade, popularly known as Pele, acknowledged that security agencies have repeatedly intervened to address open-burning activities around the market.
He said operatives of the Western Nigeria Security Network, Amotekun, as well as the police, have carried out arrests in the past following complaints from both the school and market leadership.
According to him, those involved in burning tyres and wires are not registered traders within the market. “They are not members of this market,” Gbolagade said. “They are young boys who move around looking for a means of survival.”
He explained that market leaders have consistently resisted the practice and reported it to the relevant authorities. “We do not support it at all. We have tried our best by reporting them and even taking some of them to the testing ground,” he said.
Gbolagade noted that the activities often occur after school hours and on Sundays when the market is officially closed, but admitted that the situation has been difficult to fully control. He added that traders operating close to the burning spots have also complained about the smoke and its effects.
“There is a case already,” he disclosed. “Some of them have been charged to court. As a market, we do not have stipulated fines for such offences, so whenever we catch them, we take them to the police station.”
Nigeria’s National Environmental (Control of Bush, Forest Fire and Open Burning) Regulations, 2011, issued under the NESREA Act, expressly prohibit the open burning of materials that produce dense smoke or release toxic substances, including tyres, plastics, and industrial waste.
The regulation requires that any form of controlled burning must receive a permit from the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA). It also forbids the burning of hazardous materials in residential areas and near public institutions such as schools.
Yet, at HLA Grammar School, tyre and wire burning takes place in full view of classrooms, almost daily.
BACK TO THE LAB
Inside the laboratory, Omosuli Abiodun switched on the testing machine and carefully placed the sample inside. “Once we analyse this,” he explained, “the machine will tell us how much mercury is present, how much lead, how much arsenic. Then we compare the results with World Health Organisation standards.”
He paused, then offered an example.
“WHO says lead contamination should not exceed two milligrams per kilogram, two parts per million. But imagine if we find 300 ppm. Or even 500 ppm.”
He shook his head.“That would mean these children have been inhaling poison. Every single day.”
According to him, the full results would be ready in three days.
On 4 December 2025…
Presenting the laboratory results after the third day of analysis, Mr Abiodun revealed that the levels of toxic heavy metals found in the sample were far above World Health Organisation (WHO) safety standards. He warned that the more than 230 students of HLA Grammar School, along with their teachers, are exposed to serious and ongoing health risks due to their proximity to the pollution source.
According to Omosuli, the analysis focused on several hazardous heavy metals, including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni), substances commonly associated with tyre burning and crude metal extraction.
Detailing the findings, he said the lead concentration alone measured 2,105 milligrams per kilogram, an alarmingly high figure. “Cadmium recorded 0.65 milligrams per kilogram, cobalt 9.05 milligrams per kilogram, chromium 116.50 milligrams per kilogram, and nickel 50.55 milligrams per kilogram,” he explained.
He noted that these concentrations exceed the WHO permissible limits for heavy metals in soil and plants, indicating severe environmental contamination. To put the figures into context, Omosuli explained that the WHO sets the acceptable limit for lead at 85 milligrams per kilogram, yet the sample contained nearly 25 times that amount. “For cadmium, the limit is 0.8, cobalt 0.005, chromium 100, and nickel 35 milligrams per kilogram. In almost every case, what we found was above the safe threshold,” he said.
According to the technologist, the results indicate a significant environmental and public health threat, largely driven by activities such as open tyre burning at the spare parts market. He explained that the contamination is not limited to one pathway of exposure. “What this tells us is that people living and working around this place are exposed to heavy metals through the soil, the water, and even the air,” he said, stressing that many of these substances are harmful even at low doses.
He further warned that prolonged exposure could result in serious health complications. “If you take some of the people in that area to a clinic and test their blood, you will see the effects of these heavy metals,” he added. “This environment is simply not safe.”
Given the scale of the risk, Omosuli called on the government to urgently intervene to protect residents, traders, and nearby schools from further exposure. “The interest of the masses is very important,” he said, urging stricter regulation and enforcement. He emphasized that ministries such as Science and Technology, Environment, and Education must be involved, particularly because schools are located within the polluted zone.
Raising broader public health concerns, he asked, “What happens to children who are exposed to this environment every single day? What about people living with asthma or other respiratory conditions?” According to him, the situation has persisted for years, making government inaction increasingly difficult to justify. “It is high time decisive action was taken,” he said.
As possible solutions, the expert suggested relocating the spare parts market or evacuating residential and school buildings around the polluted site. “It may be that the market needs to be moved, or that buildings around it should be evacuated. What is most important is that something must be done,” he stressed.
These findings align with existing scientific evidence on the dangers of heavy metal exposure. Research published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine identifies lead (Pb) as a potent neurotoxin capable of damaging the nervous system, particularly in children, where exposure can lower IQ and impair brain development.
The laboratory results also reflect a wider national crisis linked to polluted air. Data from the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 report show that in 2019 alone, an estimated 67,416 Nigerian children under the age of five died from pneumonia linked to overall air pollution, highlighting the severe and often fatal consequences of prolonged exposure to toxic environments such as the one surrounding HLA Grammar School.
Everybody in that environment is at risk of irreversible lung damage – Consultant pulmonologist
A consultant pulmonologist and member of the Nigerian Thoracic Society, Dr Modupe Ogunsina, warned that residents, students, and teachers living around areas where tyres and other substances are openly burned are at serious risk of acute and long-term respiratory diseases.
Speaking on the health implications of environmental pollution, Ogunsina said the danger goes beyond the students, stressing that everyone living within such environments is exposed. “Everybody around there is at risk,” she said. “You will find that respiratory infections will be much higher in those areas than in places where there is no burning. Over time, people who have lived there for years will develop chronic respiratory problems.”
She explained that prolonged exposure to polluted air gradually damages the body’s natural airway defence mechanisms. According to her, the airways normally produce mucus that helps trap and expel harmful particles through coughing, but constant inhalation of pollutants destroys these protective systems.
“The problem is slowly gathering, but it will surely manifest,” Ogunsina noted. “When it is slow, people often don’t bother. They think everything is fine, but gradually the airways are damaged. Once those protective mechanisms are destroyed, small and large particles can easily get into the lungs, especially microscopic particles that cause long-term damage.”
Ogunsina warned that such exposure can lead to irreversible lung damage, including chronic respiratory conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
“Over time, particles accumulate in the lungs, and when they start damaging the lungs, it becomes a much bigger problem. Unfortunately, lung damage is not reversible. The only thing we usually say is to leave the area causing the illness, but by then, the damage has already been done,” she said.
She added that studies comparing people living in polluted environments with those in cleaner areas would reveal significantly higher rates of cough, catarrh, and other respiratory infections among affected communities, including students and teachers.
The pulmonologist expressed particular concern for children, noting that early and continuous exposure could affect their immunity, growth, and cognitive development.
“Imagine a child of 10 years inhaling these particles every day for seven years,” she said. “Their immunity will be low, growth will be affected, and they will be visiting hospitals frequently. Even the brain, which is still maturing, can be affected. The future of such a child is at great risk.”
She warned that such children could present with serious respiratory conditions as early as their 30s, prompting doctors to trace their medical history back to prolonged exposure to polluted environments.
Ogunsina also criticised the effectiveness of commonly used face masks, saying they offer limited protection against fine particles. “The normal face masks we use are almost a joke when it comes to filtering these particles,” she said.
Addressing environmental test results referenced in the discussion, Ogunsina stated that findings, such as copper levels being more than double the acceptable limit, were alarming and required urgent intervention.
“Children play around these areas, inhale dust, touch sand, and put their hands in their mouths. Even if we can’t say everything comes directly from the air, we can reasonably assume that a significant volume of these elements is being inhaled,” she said. “That level of copper is very terrible. Something needs to be done, and done quickly.”
She called for stronger action from environmental agencies, law enforcement, and government institutions, lamenting what she described as a lack of proactive response.
“We are not taking care of our environment,” Ogunsina said. “Open burning is not encouraging. It affects not just the immediate area but the entire state and country. At the end of the day, environmental damage affects everyone.”
Rather than asking residents to relocate, she urged authorities to stop pollution at its source. “Those polluting the area should stop or find better ways of doing things. The risk is too high, both now and in the future,” she said.
Government’s reaction
The reporter reached out to the Ministry of Environment, which requested that a formal letter of intent be submitted before granting an interview. Accordingly, a letter requesting an interview with the Commissioner of the Ministry was sent to the Ministry’s Press Officer on January 14, 2026.
Following up, the reporter contacted the Ministry on Monday, January 19, 2026, for feedback. The Ministry responded that it could not take any action, stating that it was not aware of the issue. According to the Ministry, the school must submit an official letter before any intervention can be made.
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, requested a copy of the letter of interview request, indicating his intention to follow up on the matter.
A copy of the letter was subsequently submitted to the Information Ministry on Monday, January 19, 2026.
Note: Names with asterisks are not the original names of respondents; they are pseudonyms used to protect sources.
This report was facilitated by DevReporting in partnership with Education As a Vaccine (EVA) and supported by the Malala Fund.
