By:Zawya

Mining activities have set the leaders and residents of Itasa community in Iwajowa Local Government Area of Oyo State against the operator of a mining site located in the area.

The company, Architype Industries Limited, the operator of the mining site, has been alleged to be carrying out its operations without a valid Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and a valid Community Development Agreement (CDA).

The mining activity, as highlighted by the people, poses a threat to their wellbeing.

Corroborating this claim, the leaders and residents of the affected community, in separate interviews with newsmen, disclosed that mining activities were being carried out without due diligence.

While expressing his concerns over the development, Prof. Bayo Aborisade stated that the mining activities posed multiple dangers to the community.

He, therefore, called on the Federal Government to remove the mining company from their land.

According to him, “They are extracting minerals from our land, and they have empowered many people who have taken over the land to intimidate the community and threaten their lives.

“They barred us from getting to the mining site and threatened to shoot us, claiming that the Federal Government will come hard on us, as they have the backing of the Federal Government to be where they are.

“They spoiled the land and created settlements all over this land. The people we saw in the settlements don’t speak English, Hausa, or Fulfulde. They constitute a danger in several ways to this community. We want this mining company taken off this land.

“The miner does not have all the conditions the Federal Government has laid down for mining. The only thing he said he has is a title to land to mine. He does not have an Environmental Impact Assessment. He has not reached an agreement with the community on how to use the land and benefit the community.”

Similarly, the Chairman of Itasa Community Development Association, Alhaji Banji Isiaka Odedele, a youth leader, Mr Jelili Ogunlade, and Julius Farounbi stated that the miner must vacate their land immediately. They asserted that the mining activities had created insecurity in the town, preventing them from going to their farms.

“We cannot go to the farm. Enough is enough. We don’t want the company to work on our land again,” they said.

Speaking in the same vein, a legal practitioner and indigene of the community, Barr. Femi Aborisade, stated that the company had not fulfilled the legal conditions precedent before commencing mining activities and must, therefore, vacate the land.

He said, “Architype Industries (Nig.) Ltd. is carrying out illegal mining here on the grounds of non-fulfilment of statutorily prescribed conditions precedent. The company is mining resources in ways that negate express provisions of the law.

“The local government asked the company to vacate the site until it has reached an agreement satisfactory to the community in order to avert civil unrest. The law stipulates that the company must have an agreement with the community, which it has not done.

“There is no Environmental Impact Assessment conducted prior to commencing mining activities; no valid Community Development Agreement. They could not show them. That means the company does not have any valid legal instrument that permits it to be here. The community is saying the company should leave their land, but it has refused because the Federal Government has not frowned against illegality.”

Also, a member of the legislative arm of Iwajowa Local Government, Hon. Naajeem Busari, said: “There are many problems in the area because of mining activities.

“We have the issue of herdsmen destroying our farms day in, day out, without any compensation. We want the government to assist us and order that mining activities should stop. Since the company has been working here, we have not seen any tangible impact it has made in the community.”

In his submission, the Onitile of Itasa, Oba Michael Sijuola Oyediran, said, “We want peace, and we want them to do the right things for the town.

“We don’t want cheating. We want this town to develop. If the company refuses to do the right thing for the community, it should vacate our land. But if it does the right thing, it should stay.”

On his part, Mr Olufola Awoyemi, a lawyer with the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) in Ibadan, who was part of those who visited the community, said, “We thought it was a mere environmental injustice, but getting there, it is more than that.

“There are security issues, and people are angry because there is a great danger to the lives of the people of Itasa and its environs. If people are not safe, they can’t go to their farms; they can’t go about their businesses. JDPC has come to take this to another level so that the whole world can know what is happening in Itasa land and the whole of Iwajowa Local Government.”

However, the site manager of the mining company, Abiodun Ogunbiyide, argued that the organisation had complied with all laid-down requirements relating to mining activity, as enshrined in the law.

He said, “We got a valid mining licence to operate here. We obtained consent from the community. We have a valid mining site. We have a valid title to operate here.”