By Shina Abubakar Osogbo
Tension erupted on Tuesday at Ibodi, Atakunmosa West Local Government Area of Osun State, as chairmen of local governments in Ijesa South Federal Constituency clashed with military personnel over their efforts to end illegal activities in their domain.
The council chairmen, accompanied by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the police, insisted that the military personnel stop giving cover to the illegal miners causing environmental damage in the land.
The delegation had visited the communities over residents’ lamentations about environmental degradation and security challenges precipitated by illegal miners.
The confrontation occurred when the council chairmen attempted to halt the activities of miners collecting illegal tickets and levies from unlicensed officials at an illegal mining site.
The military personnel at the location prevented the enforcement team from stopping the operation, leading to a heated standoff.
The situation was eventually brought under control following the intervention of the member representing Ijesa South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Sanya Omirin, alongside senior police officers, enabling the council chairmen to stop the illegal mining activities and ticketing at the Ibodi site.
The enforcement team later proceeded to Ijana Wasare community where they shut down illegal mining sites and banned the issuance of tickets to miners operating without licences.
Addressing journalists after the inspection, the Chairman of Ilesa-West Local Government, Mr. Lanre Balogun, who spoke on behalf of the local government chairmen in the Constituency, said the action became necessary to protect communities from the devastating environmental and security consequences of illegal mining.
He lamented that communities across Ijesa land, including Ipinrindo, Itagunmodi, Igangan, Itapa and Odogbo, have suffered severe environmental degradation, destruction of farmlands, pollution of streams and water sources, and displacement of farmers due to illegal artisanal mining activities.
According to him, the local government authorities had also approached the Osun State Mining Office for information on the operators but received no satisfactory response.
He alleged that while many of the miners were operating illegally, unknown individuals were collecting revenues through ticketing at the sites.
“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,” he said.
Balogun added that the council chairmen subsequently invited the NSCDC to inspect the affected communities, commending the corps for responding promptly and forcing illegal miners to abandon several locations.
The chairmen also met with the Owa Sare of Ijana Wasare, Oba Adeniyi Adedeji, alongside other traditional rulers and stakeholders, where they resolved to work together to curb illegal mining.
They hinged their intervention on the Fourth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, arguing that local governments have constitutional responsibilities over environmental protection and community development, which empower them to intervene where illegal mining threatens the wellbeing of residents.
Speaking during the inspection, Hon. Omirin accused the Osun State Government of aiding illegal mining by issuing tickets to unlicensed miners instead of ensuring compliance with federal mining regulations.
He insisted that only the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has the constitutional authority to issue mining licences, describing the collection of tickets from illegal miners as an endorsement of illegality.
Omirin maintained that the local governments would continue to collaborate with security agencies and host communities to ensure that no mining activity takes place in Ijesa South Federal Constituency without a valid licence issued by the Federal Government.
He also vowed to escalate the activities of illegal miners at the National Assembly.
At the end of the exercise, the council chairmen announced an immediate ban on illegal mining operations and the issuance of tickets to miners within the affected communities, directing all operators to obtain appropriate licences from the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development before resuming any mining activities.
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