Two young men died on Sunday night while manually evacuating sewage from a three-storey building at No. 10 Powerline off Omuna Road in Aba, Abia State. The incident occurred around midnight when the ladder they were using snapped, plunging both workers back into the pit.
The deceased had been contracted by tenants of the building to remove waste using buckets and a ladder. According to witnesses, the equipment failed during the operation, trapping the men inside the septic tank. Police have since arrested several tenants in connection with the deaths.
The Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) Aba zone responded by sealing the premises to facilitate investigation. Deputy General Manager Okezie Ezengwa confirmed the fatalities and expressed condolences, while criticizing what he described as persistent disregard for approved waste management protocols.
“We have been preaching against the use of these manual techniques in evacuating sewage,” Ezengwa said. “There are approved vendors. Why will you use a ladder to climb into an underground pit and use buckets to scoop sewage and empty it into public drains?”
ASEPA officials transported the victims’ bodies to a mortuary. The agency emphasized that manual scavenging remains prohibited due to the extreme Health and safety risks involved, including exposure to toxic gases and structural hazards.
The case highlights ongoing challenges in urban waste management across Nigerian cities, where cost-cutting and weak enforcement often lead to dangerous informal practices. Authorities have reiterated calls for property owners and tenants to engage licensed sanitation service providers equipped with vacuum trucks and protective gear.
Investigations are ongoing. Police have not released the identities of the deceased or the arrested tenants pending notification of next of kin.
