An enforcement operation against illegal mining in Atakumosa West Local Government Area of Osun State turned tense on Tuesday after military personnel confronted local government chairmen and security operatives attempting to shut down unauthorised mining activities.
The incident occurred at an illegal mining site in Ibodi, where chairmen of local governments in the Ijesa South Federal Constituency, accompanied by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigeria Police Force, were carrying out an inspection following complaints from residents over the activities of illegal miners.
Trouble started when the enforcement team moved to stop the collection of tickets and levies from miners operating without licences. Soldiers at the location reportedly prevented the officials from disrupting the activities, leading to a brief standoff.
The situation was later resolved after the intervention of the member representing Ijesa South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Sanya Omirin, and senior police officers. The enforcement team subsequently halted the mining activities and the collection of illegal levies at the site.
The team also visited Ijana Wasare community, where additional illegal mining sites were shut down and operators without valid licences were ordered to stop work.
Speaking after the exercise, the Chairman of Ilesa West Local Government, Hon. Lanre Balogun, who addressed journalists on behalf of the council chairmen in the federal constituency, said the operation was aimed at protecting local communities from the environmental and security threats posed by illegal mining.
He said several communities across Ijesa land, including Ipinrindo, Itagunmodi, Igangan, Itapa and Odogbo, had suffered extensive damage to farmlands, pollution of streams and other water sources, and the displacement of farmers as a result of unregulated artisanal mining.
Balogun said investigations conducted by the local government authorities revealed that many of the mining operators had neither licences nor records with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
According to him, enquiries made at the Osun State Mining Office also failed to provide satisfactory information about the operators.
He alleged that despite the absence of valid licences, unidentified individuals continued to collect revenues from miners through ticketing.
«"We discovered that many of these mining sites have no records whatsoever with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development. They are unregistered, unlicensed and largely untraceable. Rather than enforcement, what we observed was the unlawful collection of revenue by unknown artisanal miners at the expense of the safety of our communities," Balogun said.»
He commended the NSCDC for responding to the invitation of the council chairmen, noting that its intervention had forced illegal miners to abandon a number of mining locations.
Balogun said the council chairmen also met with the Owa Sare of Ijana Wasare, Oba Adeniyi Adedeji, and other traditional rulers and community leaders to seek their support in tackling illegal mining.
He maintained that the action was backed by the Fourth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, which assigns local governments responsibilities relating to environmental protection and community development.
Also speaking, Hon. Omirin accused the Osun State Government of encouraging illegal mining by issuing tickets to operators without ensuring that they possessed mining licences issued by the Federal Government.
He argued that only the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has the constitutional authority to grant mining licences and described the collection of revenue from unlicensed miners as unlawful.
Omirin said the local governments would continue working with security agencies and host communities to ensure that mining activities in the Ijesa South Federal Constituency are carried out only by duly licensed operators.
He also said he would raise the issue of illegal mining activities in the constituency at the National Assembly.
At the end of the operation, the council chairmen announced an immediate ban on illegal mining and the issuance of tickets to unlicensed miners in the affected communities, directing all operators to obtain the necessary licences from the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development before resuming activities.
Leave a Reply