An investigative report by Bloomberg Businessweek has revealed a disturbing double standard, where pesticides and herbicides banned in the European Union for their links to cancer and neurological diseases are being exported and widely used across Nigeria, poisoning farmlands, water supplies, and the farmers who depend on them.
A sweeping investigation by Bloomberg Businessweek exposes a critical public health and environmental crisis in Nigeria, fueled by the export of agrochemicals deemed too dangerous for European soil. Dozens of pesticides banned in the European Union for their suspected carcinogenic and neurotoxic properties remain widely available in Nigerian markets, creating what activists describe as a "silent poisoning" of rural communities.
The report centers on farmers like 45-year-old Abdullahi Yusuf in northwest Nigeria, who attributes his 12-year-old daughter’s death from leukemia to the chemicals he uses on his crops. "She just ate the food I grew," he told Bloomberg. "I was feeding her poison without knowing." His story is tragically common. According to the nonprofit Alliance for Action on Pesticides in Nigeria (AAPN), at least 450 deaths from 2008 to 2022 have been linked to pesticide and herbicide exposure.
A Toxic Trade Flow
These include specific chemicals such as:
* Mancozeb & Imidacloprid: Produced by Bayer, linked to cancer and ecological damage.
* Atrazine & Paraquat: Manufactured by various companies, associated with Parkinson's disease, reproductive harm, and being acutely lethal.
Bayer, in a statement to Bloomberg, said it follows local regulatory guidelines and provides safety training. UPL Ltd., another major producer, did not respond to requests for comment.
A Perfect Storm of Weak Governance and Corporate Influence
The crisis is exacerbated by systemic failures in Nigerian governance. Critics point to weak, outdated regulations, lax enforcement, and the sudden shutdown of a crucial government pesticide database, which has obscured the full scale of the problem. Although Nigeria planned to ban paraquat in 2024 and atrazine in 2025, these chemicals remain readily available, highlighting a gap between policy and practice.
"It raises the risk that the foreign giants could shape policy regarding their own products," says Professor Edem Eniang, a biologist at the University of Uyo. "Companies that can’t sell their poisons in Europe are flooding our markets with them."
CropLife Nigeria counters that it promotes responsible use and works with the government to combat counterfeit products.
The Fight for Accountability and Safer Alternatives
In response, a coalition of over 80 civil society groups under the AAPN is pushing for stringent reform. They are drafting alternative legislation aimed at strengthening regulatory agencies, enforcing a clear phase-out schedule for hazardous pesticides, and restoring transparency.
"The goal is to expose and stop the import and sale of highly hazardous and banned pesticides," says Donald Ikenna Ofoegbu, AAPN’s coordinator. He warns that current parliamentary bills, influenced by manufacturers, would "loosen pesticide restrictions rather than tighten them."
The Bloomberg investigation underscores a global inequality in environmental safety, where profit motives exploit regulatory gaps in developing nations.
For Nigerian farmers like Abdullahi Yusuf, the fields that are their livelihood have become a source of unimaginable loss, as the tools meant to protect their crops now imperil their families' health. The report poses a fundamental question: will Nigeria reclaim control of its food system, or will it remain a dumping ground for the world's most dangerous chemicals?
*This report is based on findings from an investigative feature by Abdulwaheed Sofiullahi for Bloomberg Businessweek.*
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