Court remands traditional ruler for alleged illegal gold mining
A traditional ruler Obawore of Ifetuntun in Ife Central Local Government Area of Osun State, Oba Taofeeq Osunmakinde has been ordered to be remanded in Kuje prison in Abuja pending he would meet bail conditions having been accused of carrying out an illegal gold mining in Ondo State.
Penpushing reports that the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the remand of the monarch and his co-defendants Sheu Mustapha, Sabiru Hashim, Danbaba Ibrahim, in the case which also involved, Ade Olap Global Resources Limited
The case, filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and marked FHC/ABJ/CR/426/2024, has two charges, while in the first count, the prosecution accused them of conspiring among themselves and with others still at large, to illegally mine gold at the Ogunlepo mining site in Lege community, Ondo State, on 25 August.
Penpushing further reports that the prosecutor Toluwalope Ojo, told the court that this action allegedly violates Section 3(6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap. M17, LFN 2004, and is punishable under Section 1(8) of the same law.
The second count accuses the accused persons of unauthorised gold mining at the same location, in violation of section 1(8)(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, while all five defendants, including the company, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday.
“These charges, while serious, do not carry the most severe penalties under Nigerian law. The first defendant, being a well-known traditional ruler, has every reason to appear and clear his name,” Mr Ododo said.
Penpushing also reports that, the prosecutor of the Attorney General of Federation (AGF) office did not oppose the bail request but urged the court to impose strict conditions to prevent the defendants from fleeing, however, requested that the defendants surrender their passports as a precautionary measure.
The defence counsel, Vincent Ododo, thereafter, urged the judge to grant bail to the defendants, while the judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, in his ruling granted bail to all the defendants in the sum of N20 million with one surety each who must be residing in Abuja, own property in the Federal Capital Territory, and provide a three-year tax clearance certificate.
Penpushing reports that the judge added that, additionally, the defendants were ordered to surrender their passports to the court and submit three recent passport photographs and were ordered to be remanded at Kuje Prison, a maximum-security facility in Abuja, until they met their bail conditions.
The illegal mining is an intractable, entrenched criminal enterprise in Nigeria, particularly in mineral-rich states including Osun, Ondo, Oyo, Zamfara, and Plateau, among many others in Nigeria.
Penpushing further reports that the vast potential of Nigeria’s mining sector to contribute significantly to government revenue and boost the nation’s economy has been stifled by unregulated, illegal mining activities, which leave behind environmental degradation and violent conflicts in host communities.
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