The Federal Government has shut down a sand dredging and mining firm operating in the Ilate-Etido Community of Obafemi/Owode local government area in Ogun State due to unlawful mining practices.
The company, known as Ojibas Nigeria Limited and owned by a businessman from Osun State, was closed on Tuesday by officials from the Mining Inspectorate Department of the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals and Development in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State.
Reports indicate that the mining company, which had been extracting laterite and sand despite its mining license being revoked by the Nigeria Mining Cadastral Office (NMCO) in Abuja on August 12, 2022, continued its operations illegally. This revocation was officially published in the NMCO’s gazette.
Despite the legal action, the company persisted with its illegal mining activities, reportedly utilizing police and military personnel for security.
In response, a joint team comprising soldiers from the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, and police officers from Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force, Onikan, Lagos, conducted a raid on May 28, 2024.
They apprehended suspected illegal miners at a dredging site, including law enforcement officers who were providing protection, led by a Chinese national.
Prior to this enforcement action, residents of the affected community had staged protests against the company, citing adverse impacts such as environmental degradation, damage to farmlands, and disruption of livelihoods.
Chief Shamsideen Ajibawo, the Community Head of Ilate-Etido, expressed gratitude on Wednesday for the government’s decision to halt the company’s operations illegally within their community.
He emphasized that the sealing of the mining company would alleviate environmental concerns and restore normalcy to the community.
“I personally wrote a series of letters to the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals, Cadastral Mining office, Office of the General of Police, Chief of Naval Staff and Ministry of Mines, Ogun State over the activities of these illegal miners.
“I also discovered when I went to Abuja that the company’s operating licence had been revoked, but the promoter of the company refused to leave the community, boasting that he had acquired all the land in Ilate-Etido and that the indigenes should vacate the land for him. The whole community was however thrown in jubilation as the combined soldiers from the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta and police operatives from the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, came to arrest the illegal miners and armed police they used to intimidate my people.
“With this latest development by the Federal Mining Office, Abuja, our people will be happy with the sealing of the illegal mining company as the company took them through hell”, Ajibawo stated