Anambra State Government has arrested over thirty suspects at an illegal mining site in Oko, Orumba North Local Government Area and Ukpo in Dunukofia Local Government Area respectively.
The Managing Director, Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra, OCHA Brigade, Comrade Celestine Anere, who led the team, said the state moved swiftly to seal the unapproved sites and arrested the defaulters to save the environment, as according to him, the state is speedily losing more lands to erosion as a result of illegal sand mining and other activities.
He noted that the state government would not tolerate any form of irregularities or approval by any community or stakeholders for any excavation site.
Comrade Anere decried the destructive impacts of the activities of the sand miners on the environment and the newly constructed road and bridges.
The OCHA Brigade boss revealed that the task force confiscated three tippers and stated that every active mine site in the state must have the “Environmental Impact Assessment” of the Anambra state Ministry of Environment as the government has a well-established procedure for licensing mining activities on the shoreline to ensure that requirements that make for a livable and sustainable built environment are met.
According to him, the suspects upon documentation will be handed over to appropriate authorities for prosecution.
Some of the suspects, Chinonso Udo from Nimo and Chizoba Okonkwo from Eziowelle pleaded guilty and said that they are not aware of the state government’s ban on illegal mining activities in the state while Mr. Emeka Kingsley, Ebele Onwuaso and Godswill Ezeolisa denied culpability but narrated that they only heard the noise during the arrest to see what was happening only to get arrested as the others.
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