At least nine residents of Ilokun Government Reservation Area, near the Progress FM in Ado-Ekiti, have been hospitalised after inhaling smoke emanating from a dump site in the area.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the victims, including children, were rushed to a nearby hospital after inhaling the thick smoke from the dump site.
Heavy smoke generated from burning of the dump site was said to have enveloped the community few minutes after it was set on fire, thereby affecting some of the inhabitants.
Some members of the community protested against the development, calling on government to relocate the dump site.
Olayinka Ajayi, Treasurer, Landlord Association in the community, confirmed to journalists that she was one of the victims and that she was rushed to the hospital to be restored to life with an inhaler.
Bayo Keleku, the Sole Administration, Ekiti State Waste Management Authority, said that the state government was trying to manage the dump site in a safe way, alleging, however, that the site was set ablaze by suspected bystanders and not the staff of the agency as being speculated.
