The pollution indices and the potential ecological risks of heavy metals contents of the soil affected by municipal waste were investigated in Ondo, southwestern, Nigeria. The heavy metal concentrations were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). The average concentrations of Zn, Cr, Pb, Cu, Ni and Cd were 148.7, 45.5, 18.6, 17.8, 17.7 and 1.2 μgg⁻¹, respectively. The average values of the contamination factor of Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr and Cd were less than 1.0, indicating a low contamination status. The degree of contamination is 2.8, depicting a low degree of contamination. The pollution load indices ranged from 0.7 to 3.0 indicating moderate to slightly pollution. The order of the mean I_geo values is Cr > Cd > Zn > Pb > Cu > Ni. The PCFA revealed galvanized/chrome metal waste, electronic waste and Cd-enriched scrap and explained about 80% of the data. The ecological risk index is as follows Cd > Ni > Pb > Cr > Zn > Cu. The overall ecological risk index is 285.5, classifying the site as high risk. Among the measured heavy metals, Cd poses a significant health risks.