NESREA busts ring of foreign miners, water pollutants in Osun, launches investigation

Foreign miners whose activities have caused pollution of transboundary water in parts of the Southwest have been tracked by the Nigerian Environmental Standards And Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).

NESREA said the activities of these foreigners have compromised the water asset of the nation that provides domestic uses of water to residents in the area.

It also noted that farmlands have been destroyed with evidence of the destruction of cocoa farms in the affected areas.

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• NESREA burst ring of foreign miners, water pollutants in Osun, launches investigation
• NESREA burst ring of foreign miners, water pollutants in Osun, launches investigation

Director general/CEO, Nigerian Environmental Standards And Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Prof. Aliyu Jauro said this in a media parley in Abuja.

According to him: “The agency had intensified its compliance monitoring of the affected areas which revealed a large presence of Chinese miners, who with the aid of excavators and related equipment, mine and wash the minerals along or close to river courses.

“There was also high activity of artisanal miners who scavenge surface minerals at abandoned mine pits and wash them in nearby rivers, most of which flow into the Osun river.

“The river has become more turbid with reddish colouration from the disturbance of mining and washing into the river.

“A full-fledged investigation has been launched and officers from the headquarters and the South West zonal office have been in Osun State, collecting water and soil samples which have been taken for laboratory analysis to determine the level of pollution of these activities which will inform our enforcement decisions to protect the life of Nigerians affected by these activities.

Prof. Jauro said NESREA would take the culprits to court to face the law after the full investigation concludes.

His words: “After the investigation, the provisions of the National Environmental (Mining and Processing of coal, ores and industrial minerals) Regulations, 2009 and other environmental instruments will be invoked against those involved in unsustainable mining practices in the state.

“This will mean that perpetrators will have their facilities sealed and they would also be charged to court for an environmental violation.

Indeed, the Osun River is reputed for its cultural, religious, and economic significance and must be protected.

Jauro said 39 facilities across Nigeria have been sealed in the last few weeks. He listed them to include four facilities in Anambra and Borno state while six facilities each were sealed in Plateau, and Delta states.

He noted that the agency would take three other facilities to court for preventing her officer’s access to their facilities in Anambra, Ondo, and Delta state.

The director general of NESREA said the agency would also prosecute four other of those facilities that broke her seal on their premises to continue with their infractions against the law in Anambra state.