(Apr. 3, 2009) The Nigerian Senate recently passed resolutions urging federal agencies, including the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), to take the necessary steps to regulate the influx of hazardous, obsolete electronic devices and to find means of disposing of hazardous e-products already in Nigeria. Speaking about the need for a regulatory framework to control hazardous waste from e-products, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Grace Bent, who cosponsored the motion, stated：
currently there are no manufacturing year limits on the imported second hand electronic devices into Nigeria and … this regulatory discrepancy is further aggravated by the lack of adequate legislation to protect and inform the Nigerian consumer, ensure value for money and safeguard the health of ignorant citizens who dismantle these dangerous articles.
She explained that Nigeria needed to put in place safety measures to prevent exposure to metals such as mercury, lead, and cadmium, which are scientifically proven to be harmful to human health and the environment. (Sufuyan Ojeifo, Senate Seeks Regulation of Hazardous E-Products, THIS DAY, Mar. 27, 2009, available at http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=139271.)
The first resolution to be adopted, Measures to Protect Nigerian Consumers and to Safeguard the Environment by Controlling the Importation, Distribution, Dismantling, and Disposal of Obsolete Electronic Devices and Harmful Electronic Waste, was initially opposed by some lawmakers who argued that it targeted all used products. The version that was passed addressed the concerns of these lawmakers. (Id.)