INSIDE OYO NATIONAL PARK: HOW ILLEGAL MINING HAS TURNED A PROTECTED FOREST INTO A LAWLESS COMMUNITY. As some of you might recall, i did a light report about illegal mining carried out in Old Oyo National Park which is linked to Kwara State as well in 2023. After the... report which, I remembered reaching out to Ministry of Mining, a taskforce was established to curtail the activities of the miners, it worked effectively especially at the Oyo state side but it wasn't working effectively in Kwara state. After the killings of 5 National Park personnel by bandits last week, which I broke the news, I carried out an investigation to see the level of compliance at the Old Oyo National Park where lithium mining activity is going, then i discovered the said mining has become a full blown community. The current number of illegal miners operating at Old Oyo National Park is estimated to be between 200,000 and 400,000, including individuals involved in buying and selling activities at the site. According to my research , there is nothing sold outside the illegal mining site that is not also sold within the site. Items sold include foodstuffs, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, and various forms of hard drugs. There is also the presence of sex workers who render their services to illegal miners inside grass huts constructed within the area. Additionally, medical drugs and medical items such as needles, injections, and intravenous fluids are openly sold at the site. Explosives are also sold to illegal miners and are used for blasting lithium during excavation. There are thousands of blacksmiths on site who fabricate various tools used for illegal mining activities, including shovels, diggers, chisels, and hammers. There is a high rate of child labour at the illegal mining site, also known as Daba. These children are used mainly for sorting lithium from rocks. The illegal mining site is divided into two sections: the Yoruba illegal mining section and the Hausa/Fulani illegal mining section. Both sections are located within Old Oyo National Park. The road leading to the illegal mining site (Daba) is not motorable. Access to the site is only possible by motorcycle. All extracted lithium is transported by motorcycles to Bonni, Igbeti, or Soro in Kishi. This indicates that illegal miners access the mining site through Igbeti, Kishi, and Bonni. As at the time of writing this report, many empty trucks are observed entering through Igbeti, Oyo State, heading directly to Bonni, and passing through Bonni to Jeba Oloru, Kwara State, from where the lithium is transported to destinations of their choice. They operate within the confines of laws established by the illegal miners’ chairman, popularly known as “CD.” Anyone who commits the crime of stealing is punished by death. The area is so enclosed that outsiders can be fished out by them. A bike man who carries lithium from the forest to the truck earns ₦12,000 per bag. One bag of lithium weighs 100kg, and they carry two bags, making 200kg. The miners are so familiar with the area that they can easily move to Igbeti, Kishi, and Bonni in Kwara State from the forest while evading security forces without being noticed, because many of them have been living in the forest for more than three years without seeing the outside world. It is imperative that both the Kwara State Government, Oyo State Government, and the Federal Government get hold of this before it becomes a security problem for the whole country. Illegal mining in Old Oyo National Park is progressing, not regressing.show more

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