Madam Grace Ojiwusi and her colleague landlady at Awolumate Zone 3, Opa, Ile-Ife, Osun State, identified as Funmilayo Adesogbon, were sweating profusely after a heated argument with some miners, who arrived the area to commence work sometime towards end of October.

The cause of the disagreement was the obvious plan by the miners to go beyond a small portion of virgin land near a stream that passes through the community.

The miners, led by a Chinese national, were said to have purchased that portion of land to prospect mineral resources.

It was said that they purchased the land from one Alaja, through the help of one Ojo Olaosun, described as an indigene of Ile-Ife.

The Chinese who lead the team of miners listened with rapt attention as the house owners engaged the local guide of the team, insisting that the miners should go away.

As the debate went on, the miners demanded that the women show them documents to prove their ownership of the land.

After an hour-long argument, the team of miners retreated and the women heaved a sigh of relief.

Ojiwusi and Adesogbon had just achieved a feat that many landlords in the area could not.

Many house owners in the areas said they had resigned to fate, watching as steady mining activities ruined their property, which were being badly exposed to dangers of flooding owing to massive digging of land close to them by the miners.

But the victory achieved by the courageous women was short-lived.

A few days later, the miners returned to the area in the dead of the night when the community was asleep.

Residents heard the sounds of earlth-moving machines as mining activities went on but they were too afraid to come out in the middle of the night to confront the miners.

They were deterred by the fear of what could happen to them should the miners choose to go violent. So, they anxiously awaited daybreak.

Before daybreak, however, the miners with their earth-moving machines, had dug land close to some of the buildings and since then, they had continued their work without anyone having the courage to stop them.

During a visit on Tuesday to the community by Sunday PUNCH, our correspondent saw that mining activities were going on in full swing.

A large portion of swamp located in the middle of the community had been dug out. About 15 miners, including two foreigners, were working intensely under the protection of four gun-bearing riot policemen.

None of the workers approached was ready to comment. There was nothing to show the identity of the firm the miners were working for.

Speaking to our correspondent during the visit, a visibly angry Ojiwusi lamented the helplessness of the residents, whose houses

According to her, the manner the miners are operating has created panic among the landlords and all complaints and entreaties have been rebuffed.

Recalling how the miners arrived in the community, despite efforts to resist them, Ojiwusi said when some Chinese and their labourers first attempted to commence work on a portion of land sold to them by a man identified as Alaja, the residents warned them against going beyond the portion they bought.

She said after a few days, the miners returned around 1:30am and started working on land belonging to other people in the community.

She said, “When these Chinese miners first came, a colleague house owner saw them using a big machine to dig on a parcel of land looking for gold. We confronted them. When they didn’t retreat, we started pelting them with stones. They were forced to retreat.

“A few days later, around 1:30am, the Chinese miners and their labourers came back and commenced work on two plots of land belonging to me. They were looking for gold. Despite our complaint, they have continued excavation.

“Many other houses were affected. Government and security agents should intervene and save us from the serious dangers we have been exposed to. Several buildings are now in serious danger of being washed away.”

The community chairman, Olafare Abimbola, told Sunday PUNCH that when the miners first came, they started prospecting near a stream located right in the middle of community.

He alleged that they later started expanding and invaded plots of land already acquired by the people.

Asked if an attempt was made to have a dialogue with the miners, Olafare said, “We invited some of their representatives who are Yoruba and we told them their activities had led to huge losses on our side.

“They told us that we should go and write a list of things we lost to their activities within our community with an assurance that they would compensate us.

“They are already overstepping their boundaries, going beyond parcel of land they told us they bought. They are now bulldozing properties and they do that mostly in the night, thereby endangering the lives of people.

“Like 20 houses have been affected. This is beyond my power. I cannot control them, and even now they are nearing my own house.

“Meanwhile, they are trying to bribe me with money but I told them the only thing the community wants is for them to go away.

“We didn’t give them any consent to do anything in our community. They are now buying more land. They want to extend their activities, and they are ready to destroy our properties and endanger our lives. We don’t want them in our community. The ditches created by these men are very deep and they have spent over one month now. Please we want you to come to our aid.”

Miners dropping names of chiefs, prominent indigenes

Another house owner in the community, who gave his name simply as Fabeku, said the miners told them that they had taken care of all the ‘interests’ that could hinder their work.

The miners, Fabeku said, claimed they had settled some traditional rulers and prominent community leaders in the area.

He urged the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, to intervene in order to stop the mining activities, which he stressed was posing danger to the lives and property of landlords and residents.

Community petitions NSCDC

In a petition by its lawyer, Mr Babatunde Babaola, addressed to the Osun State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, members of Awolumate community called on the Commandant to visit the area to access the level of the environmental degradation caused by the miners.

The community also called on the state NSCDC boss to immediately stop further excavation of land for the purpose of prospecting for mineral resources to prevent a breakdown of law and order in the area.

The ‘Petition Against one Oja Olaosun and his Chinese Cohorts for Environmental Degradation and Acts Capable of Leading to Breakdown of Law and Order in Awolumate Community, Ile-Ife, Osun State,’ was received by the NSCDC on November 24.

It further read in part, “We are solicitors to Awolumate Community, lle-Ife, Osun State represented by the Chairman, Prince Adegoke Aderotimi Williams, Mr Olafare Abimbola (Chairman Zone 3), Mr Aderogba Adeposi (youth representative) and in particular Evang. (Mrs) Grace Ojiwusi and Mrs Funmilayo Adesogbon, all are of Awolumate Community, Olopo-Meji, Off llesa Road, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

“We have received first-hand information from our clients, which we did confirm by visiting the community ourselves yesterday 23/11/2022 before writing this petition on their behalf and for themselves.

“It was alleged that one Ojo Olaosun brought some people, including some Chinese men, to the community for the purpose of gold mining and the illegal activities of these people have so much damaged the environment to the extent that our clients’ residential buildings in the area are being encroached upon, leading to dilapidation of some of the buildings in the area, particularly, buildings belonging to the following people: Evang. Grace Ojiwusi, Mrs. Funmilayo Adesogbon and others, whose buildings are being threatened due to the illegal excavation of their land without authorisation or compensation to those directly affected or the community to mitigate the effect of the monumental degradation.

“The environmental degradation already done and which still continues in the community is so alarming that if there is a heavy rainfall, the residents of the community may be overrun by water unless they relocate from the area.

“We are apt to state that the youth of the community may mobilise to confront this flagrant act of degrading their land and environment if something very urgent is not done. We, therefore, call on your good office to immediately visit the area to determine the level of the degradation, stop the illegal miners from further degradation of the environment, which is obviously contrary to all mining laws and regulations in the country and direct them to do whatever is needed to be done to address the environmental impact of the illegal gold mining in the community.

“We count on your good office to ensure that justice is done in this matter in order to forestall a full-blown breach of peace or breakdown of law and order in the community.”

When contacted, the spokesperson for NSCDC, Osun State Command, Kehinde Adeleke, confirmed the receipt of the petition from Awolumate Community.

She said the Commandant, upon receipt of the petition, immediately swung into action and sent operatives to the site.

Adeleke said, “Operatives from the Intelligence and Investigations Department of the Command visited the site. Personnel of a sister security agency in the state was seen with some Chinese expatriates on site providing security to protect them.

“In the spirit of synergy, our men discussed with the said security personnel and he promised to bring the Chinese miners to our state Command at Ayepe, Osogbo for investigation.”

Members of Awolumate collected money from miners – Olaosun

Getting the miners to react proved impossible, as the workers on site didn’t give our correspondent any attention during the visit to the site.

But Sunday PUNCH spoke to Ojo Olaosun, who the community members accused of bringing the Chinese miners to the community.

While reacting to allegations,Olaosun denied involvement.

Olaosun, who claimed he is also a property owner in Awolumate, also accused some members of the community of collecting money from the miners.

According to him a community close to Awolumate had sold land to the miners, while the miners later expanded their operations after crossing a stream separating the two communities.

“I don’t know anything about mining. Those on the other side of the stream that separates Awolumate and them are the ones who sold their land to the miners.

“The people that wrote the petition have collected money from the miners. The miners they are talking about have even left the area,” Olaosun said.

The spokesperson for Osun Governor, Olawale Rasheed, said the Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration had just set up a committee to oversee issues arising from mining sector.

Rasheed advised members of the Awolumate community to formally write to complain about activities of the miners in their area.