Illegal miners operating in the Egbetua Autonomous Community in Ososo, Akoko-Edo Local Area of the state, have been given a seven-day ultimatum by the Edo State government to leave the area.
After seven days, the authorities threatened to bring the full force of the law down on any illegal miners discovered in the region.
To the dismay of the residents, it was reported on Friday that over 1,000 laborers, primarily from the country’s north, were working on the site.
The mining facility, it was learned, was situated inside the Odo wilderness some 15 kilometers from Ososo town, and had been in operation for more than 25 years.
Chief Peter Momoh, the Iddu Oremeh Osese of Egbetua, the community’s chief, confirmed the illicit gold miners’ operations in the community and stated the state government’s intervention was necessary.
He said, “The illegal mining activities in our community have not only led to environmental degradation but have also resulted in a rise in criminal activities, including frequent kidnapping of farmers, market women and children.”
The community handed the illegal miners a notice to stop in a letter dated March 7, 2024, which was signed by the head chief and his secretary. In a separate letter dated April 17, 2024, the community begged Governor Godwin Obaseki to stop their operations.
On behalf of Governor Obaseki, the state commissioner for mining and energy, Enaholo Ojiefoh, eventually delivered the ultimatum to the miners on Saturday after leading a group of security guards to meet with the community’s chiefs and elders.
He stated that the state government has a zero-tolerance policy for crime and unlawful activity in the state and expressed interest in the locality’s growth and development.
“I want to give a serious warning to residents of Egbetua. If you are part of these criminals who have been working in our forest, mining our precious minerals, your days are numbered.
“If you have been working or helping in any way to carry out their illegal activities, your days are numbered. I want you (elders of Egbetua community) to send this message to everybody, tell them that we are giving them (gold miners) seven days to vacate that forest.
“It is a marching order from the state government to flush them (illegal gold miners) out of this place and that is why you are seeing different security agencies.
“They can’t be exploiting our solid mineral and still be kidnapping, raping our wives and girls, chasing our men away and using the forest as a place where they keep their victims,” he said.
The state governor and the minister of solid mineral development would receive a copy of the visit report, the commissioner revealed.
He did, however, guarantee that the state government would collaborate with all legitimate mining firms operating in the region and would attract investors to foster the region’s expansion.
Speaking about the development, Momoh thanked the state administration for their intervention.
