THERE is tension at Dagbala in Akoko Edo Local Government Area, Edo State, following the invasion of the sleepy town by over 1,000 miners excavating for gold with suspicious licenses.
It was gathered that intruders without specific details of operational areas have taken over the forests of Dagbala and neighbouring communities in search of gold and other solid minerals.
However, the leadership of the local government area called a stakeholders meeting recently, to halt mining activities before illegal miners cause anarchy.
A resident confirmed to Newsmen that containers of mining equipment meant for mining activities were brought to the community in the cover of darkness.
He also disclosed that several vehicles with Federal Government plate numbers transported people to the community, almost on daily basis, from different parts of the country for mining activities until the resolution to stop mining activities in the interim.
When Newsmen visited the community, one of the suspected strangers roaming around uncompleted buildings, said: “We came to work but they said work should stop so I am waiting for my brother to send money to me to go back.”
An official of a mining company, Macana, affected by the invasion, told our reporter that workers abandoned their site when they could not stop intruders from coming into their area of operation to avoid violent clashes.
Our company got a licence to mine and in the process discovered gold, we have now sent a fresh application to get a licence for gold mining, but while awaiting response from the authorities, illegal miners have deliberately drifted into their area of operation apparently because of the gold,” he said. While awaiting restoration of normalcy and approval of its licence to mine gold, the company has reportedly, visited the community to work out mutual development contracts.
The traditional ruler of Dagbala, Okaku I of Dagbala, HRH Albert Okogbe Agbebaku was said to have agreed to summon a meeting of the elders’ council of the community and come up with their needs and demands and thereafter meet with the company to finalise the agreement.
The operating Officer of the company, Fatai Jimoh, said the illegal miners were robbing the Federal Government of the much needed revenue with their activities.
The illegal miners have graduated from working without papers, while some with papers work in an area where they do not have jurisdiction or licence to mine gold or any mineral.
They parade fake licence to hoodwink security men when they are confronted.
“Our prospecting for minerals in Dagbala dated back to 2014 and from the geology of Akoko Edo, we felt that there is going to be a deposit of industrial minerals in the community. We did our paper work relying on the geology of Nigeria.
Reviewed by Jude
on
March 16, 2021
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