The Federal Government has reportedly sealed a sand dredging and mining firm operating in Ilate-Etido Community, located in Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, for allegedly engaging in unlawful mining practices.
The firm, known as Ojibas Nigeria Limited and owned by a local businessman from Osun State, was shut down by officials from the Mining Inspectorate Department, a division of the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals and Development, Oke Mosan in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Tuesday.
It was gathered that the firm’s sand mining license had been revoked by the Nigeria Mining Cadastral Office in Abuja, Abuja, on August 12, 2022.
Despite the revocation of the mining license, which was made public in the official gazette of the NMCO, Abuja, the company reportedly continued to operate illegally, employing police and military personnel as their security.
However, on May 28, 2024, a joint operation by soldiers from the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, and police officers from Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force, Onikan, Lagos, managed to raid the company and apprehend the individuals involved in illegal sand mining at a dredging site.
During the raid, the security team also apprehended some police and military personnel who were aiding the illegal miners, including a Chinese national, and transported them to Onikan for questioning.
It was learnt that prior to the operation, the local community had already organized protests against the company, expressing their concerns over the harmful effects of the unauthorized sand dredging, which they claimed had damaged their agricultural lands, environment, and livelihoods.
Speaking on the sealing of the mining company, the Community Head of Ilate-Etido community, Chief Shamsideen Ajibawo, reportedly told Vanguard: “I wrote a series of letters to the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals, Cadastral Mining Office, Office of the Inspector-General of Police, Chief of Naval Staff and Ministry of Mines in 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“I also discovered when I went to Abuja that the company’s operating licence had been revoked, but the promoter of the company refused to leave the community, boasting that he had acquired all the land in Ilate-Etido and that the indigenes should vacate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.”
