Insecurity: Monarch, Community Leaders Sends SOS To FG Over Illegal Mining Activities
The Monarch, youths, and leaders of thought of Itasa, in Iwajowa Local Government Area (LGA) of Oke-Ogun axis of Oyo State, have called on the Federal Government (FG) to order a mining company in the community, Architype Industries Nig. Limited, to vacate their land.
The community leaders who made the appeal said that the activities of the company constitute a danger to lives, breed insecurity, and bring about issues of environmental degradation.
A prominent son of Itasa, Prof. Bayo Aborisade, argued that the mining activities of the company constitute a danger to the community in several ways, adding that it became imperative for them to request that the activities of the miners be put on hold, following the looming danger they observed at Itasa and its environs.
Even more worrisome, he said is that they suspect that the miners at the settlement are foreigners because they neither speak English, Hausa, or Fulfulde, and have also threatened to kill them if they attempt to oppose them.
While, the community also accused the mining company of operating without a valid Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate, nor a valid Community Development Agreement (CDA), the community noted that they made the discoveries after assessing the activities of the miners.
He said: ‘’They (miners) are extracting minerals from our land, and they have empowered many people who have taken over the land to intimidate the community and threaten the people.
“They barred us from getting to the mining site and threatened to shoot us, claiming that the Federal Government would come hard on us, as they have the backing of the Federal Government to be where they are.
“They spoiled the land and created settlements all over this land. The people we saw in the settlements don’t speak English, Hausa, or Fulfulde. They constitute a danger in several ways to this community. We want this mining company taken off this land.
‘’The miner does not have all the conditions the FG has laid down for mining. The only thing he said he has is a title to land to mine. He does not have an Environmental Impact Assessment. He has not reached an agreement with the community on how to use the land and benefit the community’’, he stated.
The Onitile of Itasa, Oba Michael Sijuola Oyediran, said: ‘’We want peace, and we want them to do the right things for the town. We don’t want cheating. We want this town to develop. If the company refuses to do the right thing for the community, it should vacate our land. But if it does the right thing, it should stay’’.
In their separate remarks, the Chairman, of Itasa Community Development Association, Alhaji Banji Isiaka Odedele; a youth leader, Mr Jelili Ogunlade; and a member of the community, Julius Farounbi, said the miner must vacate their land forthwith, asserting that their mining activities had created insecurity in the town and as a result they are not able to go to their farms.
Meanwhile, the Counsel of the community, who is also an indigene of the area, Femi Aborisade, said Architype has not fulfilled the conditions precedent under the law before commencing mining activities. Hence it must vacate the land.
He said, ‘’Architype Industries (Nig.) Ltd. is carrying out illegal mining here on the grounds of nonfulfillment of statutorily prescribed conditions precedent. The company is mining resources in ways that negate express provisions of the law. The local government asked the company to vacate the site until it has reached an agreement satisfactory to the community to avert civil unrest.
“The law stipulates that the company must have an agreement with the community which it has not done. There is no EIA conducted before commencing mining activities; no valid Community Development Agreement. That means the company does not have any valid legal instrument that permits it to be here. The community is saying the company should leave their land but it has refused because the federal government has not frowned against illegality”, he observed.
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