NO fewer than 1,500 residents of Assara village in Rafi Local Government area of Niger State have been evacuated from their homes following the death of 28 persons from lead poisoning.
The state government has also closed down the illegal mining sites within and around the village, which were found to contain more leaded ore.
The chairman of the council, Shuaibudeen Isah on Saturday told our correspondent in Minna that he personally supervised the evacuation exercise.
Isah said government took the step to evacuate the people in order to forestall further contamination and poisoning by residents of the village.
The Federal Government through the Minister of State for Health, Fiddles Nwankwo, had on Wednesday announced the death of 28 persons as a result of lead poisoning.
Nwankwo said as at Tuesday, out of 65 cases reported, 28 persons who were children below the age of five were confirmed dead while hundreds of domestic animals were also killed by the lethal substance.
Isah commended the prompt intervention by the state and federal governments in addressing the situation.
The state director of public health, Dr. Mohammad Usman, said four other children diagnosed to be suffering from the effect of the poison are receiving treatment in Ankar, Zamfara State.
Usman said a multi-sectorial committee had been set up by the state government to tackle the issue of lead poisoning in Rafi LGA of the state.
He said the committee had swung into action by sensitising the community in preventive measures to avoid further infection and death.
Usman said the state government would work towards providing emergency services to the affected communities.
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