Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has banned metal scavenging activities in all 27 local government areas in the state.
Zulum announced the ban on Monday in Maiduguri, the state capital.
He noted that, in the last five years, many people were killed as a result of metal scavenging.
According to him, scavengers are notorious for destroying both public and private properties in most local government areas where the activities of Boko Haram forced residents to flee.
“You have seen this place, all these are government properties and behind you are properties belonging to telecommunication companies. Such activities can only be tagged as economic sabotage both to the federal and state governments. Therefore, I have directed the ban on metal scavenging in all 27 local governments until further notice.”
He noted that the state government lost valuable properties worth billions of naira in the last five years resulting from the activities of scavengers.
The governor said the ban on metal scavenging extends to all forms of informal and unregulated metal recovery activities, including the dismantling, collection, and transportation of scrap metals.
Borno government, he warned, will work closely with security agencies to effectively enforce the ban by imposing stringent penalties on violators.
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