IKWO, Nigeria Tensions are mounting in the Ndufu-Alike axis of Ikwo Local Government Area in Ebonyi State following allegations that a Chinese company is carrying out illegal underground mining activities on sacred land in the Enyim Agalegu Edukwu Opeke community.
In a petition addressed to Governor Francis Nwifuru, the communitys youth leadership accused the unnamed Chinese firm, allegedly operating in collusion with four local individuals, of trespassing on community land and desecrating the Ugwogo Forest, which houses the communitys ancestral shrine.
The shrine has been our ancestral deity since centuries ago. Its desecration by this Chinese firm and their local accomplices is not only a cultural affront but also a spiritual violation, read the petition signed by Youth President Mr. Ogbuinya Livinus.
The petitioners allege that the firm failed to meet legal requirements stipulated in the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act of 2007, including the mandatory environmental impact assessment (EIA), community engagement, and federal certification.
Section 61 of the Act provides that no mining operations may commence without the consent of the community and requisite environmental clearances.
According to the petition, no such consultations or assessments were conducted before mining began.
The community claims the underground operations pose grave environmental threats, including land subsidence, potential tunnel collapses, and seismic instability.
They warn that the rainy season could exacerbate the risks, potentially triggering a disaster of unimaginable scale.
They are digging deeper than they were ever permitted and heading towards the Royal Salt mining dump. This reckless activity could trigger seismic tremors, cause collapses, and endanger lives, the youths stated.
Adding to the tension, the petition alleges that community youths who have attempted to resist the mining activities have been targeted with arrests and harassment.
The community maintains that the Chinese firm does not possess legal rights to operate on the disputed land. The land in question, according to the petitioners, is legally leased to Royal Salt Limiteda company that has since distanced itself from the activities of the Chinese operator.
Royal Salt has categorically denied granting any license or permission to the Chinese company to enter the land, much less mine it, the petition noted.
The youths further allege that the firm has expanded operations beyond any approved boundaries, encroaching dangerously close to sensitive mining infrastructure and increasing the potential for environmental catastrophe.
In their plea, the community urged Governor Nwifuru to immediately halt the mining activities through an executive order and initiate a full-scale investigation into the firms operations and its alleged local collaborators.
We are still holding our peace in respect of your peace initiative in Ebonyi State through your Peoples Charter of Needs. But we urge you to act now before its too late, the petition concluded.
As of press time, neither the Ebonyi State government nor the Chinese firm in question had issued a public response.
