Anambra government through Operation Clean And Healthy Anambra, OCHA Brigade recently arrested thirty suspects for illegal minning in the state.
A tipper driver and Mechanic who were amongst those arrested, in an exclusive interview with Angel Network News, narrated their experiences on how they were arrested and detained for two days.
According to Mr Osita Okoye, a mechanic, ” We were at work last week Wednesday, 10th January 2023 when men of OCHA Brigade and Ebube-Agu vigilantee suddenly came and arrested me and my driver, tagging us illegal minners.
” We were never notified or written and so
not aware of Anambra state government’s ban on mining of sand activities.
“There was no announcement on the ban from government, no warning papers, no circular or any sign placed at the borrow-pit owned by Emeka Eze located at Ukpo, opposite Zone 13.
” Our phones were collected and on getting to the station, we were detained. We were deprived from contacting our family and some of the suspects had to pay one thousand naira before they could called their relatives.
” It was devastating experience. We passed the night at the vigilantee office Awka, were we where jam-packed like Sardine fish.
” It took the interventions of the chairman of tipper association and other stakeholders before we were relased on Friday night”. Okoye maintained
Mr. Kenneth Udeh, the tipper diver who was also arrested while narrating how the incident happened lamented over the humiliation they encountered at the hands of OCHA Brigade.
According to Mr. Udeh, ‘ Its really unfortunate that the state government treated us this way. We only came to buy sand and ended up in detention for two days.
” We have been buying sands at that spot for a long time. We are law abiding citizens and pay our tax to government and it is illegal to detain us for more than 48 hours unjustly.
” Am a father with six children and my family staved for two days of my detention because they could not feed considering the fact that we lived one day at a time’. Udeh lamented
ANN recalls that Anambra State Government last Wednesday arrested over 30 suspects at an illegal mining site in Oko, Orumba North Local Government Area and Ukpo in Dunukofia Local Government Area.
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 to save the environment, as the state is speedily losing more lands to erosion as a result of illegal sand mining and other activities.
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 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.
