Apparently disturbed by unabated sand mining around critical infrastructure and public utilities such as electricity towers and lines as well as oil and gas pipelines across the state, government of Ogun state has put up 24-hour surveillance on such utilities with a view to protecting them, and arrest as well as prosecute the erring miners.
These security measures were taken by government in response to the perceived imminent disaster that could happen in Bun Village, along Shimawa road located at the back of Redemption Camp of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Mowe, where dredging around electricity towers base, as was earlier reported by a National Newspaper, could cause power outage and blackout in three states of Ogun, Ondo and Lagos if not checked.
BusinessDay reports that illegal mining of sand and dredging out of earth for the purpose of excavating laterites is being carried out across the three senatorial districts of the state, especially along the lanes where oil and gas pipes are buried and under electricity tower bases which does not only stand to cause economic loss, but also poses grave danger to all residents of Ogun state and beyond.
Speaking shortly after Stop Order had been placed on the illegal mining site at the back of Redemption Camp at Mowe on Thursday, Bimbo Ashiru, Ogun State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, expressed worry over unabated dredging of sand and earth illegally, which he said, poses a grave danger to human lives and big threat to economic growth and development of the nation.
“Most time when we go out monitoring, we find out that when someone got mining approval for a place, he uses the same permit to work somewhere else, I have personally gone there (Mowe) twice, I even arrested a Syrian and I locked him up for seven days. I have warned them that this is a disaster that is going to happen and they (miners) should not allow anybody to work there.
“Now, we have gone there and put Stop Order. We have put a signpost there, that mining there is illegal and we are going to station security people there 24/7 to monitor them. I am going to be getting a weekly report on this and areas where such illegal mining happens across the state. I have also told some Redeemed Pastors when they came to my Office to alert us when they see illegal mining going on there.
“I know we will get them arrested and prosecute them. But, what I don’t know is whether our people (government staff) are compromising or not, because each time we go there to arrest, we don’t see anybody. There was a time we were there at night till 6am, we didn’t see anybody. We probably have an insider who gives information to those people.
“If people have not compromised, I don’t expect this to happen. But, now we are going be firm and strict on this, any officer that is found culpable of this will be dealt with accordingly”, he concluded.
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
