The Federal Government has sealed a sand dredging and mining company, operating in the Ilate-Etido Community in Obafemi/Owode local government area of Ogun State, over illegal mining activities.
The company, operating under the name of Ojibas Nigeria Limited and owned by a businessman from Osun State, was sealed on Tuesday by officers from the Mining Inspectorate Department, Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals and Development, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
It was gathered that the operating licence of the mining company dredging laterite and sand in the community, had been revoked by the Nigeria Mining Cadastral Office, Abuja, since August 12, 2022.
It was also gathered that despite the revocation of the mining licence which was published in the official gazette of NMCO, Abuja, the company continued to carry on illegal mining activities, using policemen and soldiers as security covers.
A combined team of soldiers from the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta and police operatives from Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force, Onikan, Lagos, had on May 28, 2024, stormed the company and arrested suspected illegal miners at a dredging site.
The security team also arrested some policemen and soldiers providing cover for the illegal miners headed by a Chinese national and whisked them to Onikan for interrogations.
Scores of residents of the host community had before then, staged a protest against the company, lamenting the negative and destructive impacts of the illegal dredging of sand in the area, which according to them, had affected their farmlands, environment and sources of living.
Speaking on the sealing of the mining company, on Wednesday, the Community Head of the Ilate-Etido community, Chief Shamsideen Ajibawo, commended the Federal Government for slamming the ‘stop work order’ on the company which was operating illegally in the community.
He said the community will now experience a huge relief with the sealing action, adding that the mining company, apart from engaging in unauthorized activities, had caused serious environmental degradation to the Ilate-Etido community.
