The Anambra state government has paraded over 25 individuals for engaging in illegal mining activities, a practice banned last year to combat the spread of gully erosion.
The suspects, including drivers, loaders, and site owners, were presented at the headquarters of Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA Brigade) in Awka. The crackdown follows the state’s ban on illegal sand mining, aimed at reducing the over 1,000 erosion sites affecting 166 of the state’s 179 communities.
Comrade Celestine Anere, Managing Director of OCHA Brigade, reiterated the state’s commitment to enforcing the ban, highlighting its importance in mitigating environmental degradation. The suspects were apprehended in the Bridge Head, Onitsha, and Ogbaru areas, with sites subsequently sealed off pending acquisition of environmental impact assessment (EIA) certifications and other permits.
Anere emphasized that the arrests, made during regular enforcement drives, would lead to prosecutions under the law. Some suspects, including site owner Christopher Obodo, sales manager Chioma Favour, Okwudili Obichukwu, and Abuchi Eneh, pleaded ignorance of the ban and apologized, seeking forgiveness to comply with the regulations in the future.
