ABSTRACT Industrial and anthropogenic activity-induced mobilisation and dispersion of potentially toxic materials into the atmosphere and human environment have been linked to serious threats to human health. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to determine the concentrations of heavy metals (Cr, Pb, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Mn) in soil samples collected near a coal-fired cement factory in northeast Nigeria. For heavy metal concentrations, except for Cr, mean values were lower than the Canadian soil quality requirements (Cr = 76.44 > 64 mg kg–1, Pb = 19.32 – 70 mg kg – 1, Ni = 29.09 – 50 mg kg–1, Cu = 5.03 - 63 mg kg–1, Zn = 10.15 – 200 mg kg–1). For adults and children, a lifetime exposure risk assessment was made for ingestion, inhalation, and skin contact. The majority of metal pollution in the tested soils was due to human activity, according to statistical analysis. Adults and children are most likely to be exposed through ingestion, according to risk assessments. Children's hand-to-mouth eating practises may be to blame for their increased risk of illness. Non-carcinogenic health impacts were shown to exist in the subpopulations for all of the metals studied, with the exception of Cr, which had the highest potential for non-carcinogenic health effects.