The Lagos State Government on Monday said it had confiscated a truckload of poisonous cowhide (ponmo) at Ijegun, a suburb of Lagos, in the Alimosho Local Government Area of the state.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Olayiwole Onasanya, who described the cowhide as Ebola ponmo said the item was imported into the country by some ‘unscrupulous individuals’.
The police, Onasanya said arrested the vehicle at Ikotun before informing officials of the government.
The cowhide, he said, was preserved with chemicals to be used as leather material but they are being sold for human consumption by some criminals.
The “Ebola Ponmo”, Onasanya said, had since been transported to the ministry’s outstation at Johnson Agiri Office Complex, Agege for disposal at the medical waste dumpsite in Ewu Elepe, Ikorodu.
The Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and Environmental Health Officers have been informed of the discovery and the disposal, he added.
He urged the public to report any suspected activities and sales of unwholesome foods to the nearest local government or the ministry.