The Federal Government has shut down Ojibas Nigeria Limited, a sand dredging and mining company in Ilate-Etido Community, Obafemi/Owode local government area of Ogun State, for illegal mining activities.
The company, 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 in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Sources revealed that the company’s mining license was revoked by the Nigeria Mining Cadastral Office in Abuja on August 12, 2022. Despite this, Ojibas Nigeria Limited continued its illegal operations, using policemen and soldiers as security.
On May 28, 2024, a team of soldiers from the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, and police operatives from Zone 2 Command in Lagos arrested the illegal miners at the dredging site. They also detained some policemen and soldiers who were providing cover for the miners, led by a Chinese national, and took them to Onikan for questioning.
Residents of the host community had previously protested against the company’s activities, citing the destructive impact on their farmlands, environment, and livelihoods.
Chief Shamsideen Ajibawo, the Community Head of Ilate-Etido, expressed relief at the government’s intervention. He said, “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 I also discovered when I went to Abuja that the company’s operating licence had been revoked, but the promoter of the company refused to leave the community, boasting that he had acquired all the land in Ilate-Etido and that the indigenes should vacate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.”
He added, “The whole community was thrown into 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.”
