INVESTIGATION: Inside OAU Where Illegal Miners Plunder Nigeria’s Precious Stones

Strolling along an unpaved path next to the Cooperative Hostel, a student residence, before Damico's arrival exposed an alternative aspect of the famed Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), where illicit miners profit from Nigeria's commonwealth.

If one didn't look closely, they could easily be led to believe that there was road construction going on nearby.

However, our reporter managed to get a picture of one of the miners' faces as they were moving to document events on the property and were seated cross-legged on a bamboo bench by the side of the road.

We noticed the miner sitting there, lost in a phone discussion with an unknown individual, when we noticed the sandy trail next to him heading into the mining site.

From the asphalt road, piles of sand could be seen directly behind the trees, and several broad tipper lines were seen carved deeply into the sandy soil.

Despite our initial inability to enter the site due to concerns about harassment, we were able to apprehend a second miner who was attempting to block the path to the site by down tree branches as soon as he thought someone was observing him.

The damaging effects of illicit mining on the environment are among the main issues raised by this practice. Harmful chemicals like cyanide and mercury are frequently employed in unregulated mining operations to extract minerals like lead and gold. These substances pose major health dangers to both people and wildlife (in this case, students and staff) as they can seep into surrounding water sources and contaminate rivers and groundwater. Deforestation, soil erosion, and habitat destruction are all caused by the careless use of explosives and heavy machinery, which worsens environmental degradation.

The Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 established the requirement for Community Development Agreements between mining industry participants and the so-called "host community," a particular group within society. In this instance, OAU is the host community, and, according to the mandate in Section 116 subsection 1 and 2 of the Mining Act, there is meant to be a stakeholders’ engagement.
Images shot at a few of the OAU locations where illicit mining operations are occurring
One of the miners was captured by Channels Television during a subsequent visit, while they were digging deep and placing an iron pan that had a brown appearance near the bank of the looted area. Deep down in the earth, his mining net was likewise precisely suited.

An image of a miner using a pan and mining net is shown.
The discovery that there were further mining sites directly on the university campus startled Channels Television.

The university's junior staff quarters are among the buildings housed at another location, Road 7, which is the subject of an investigation. We discovered that another invasion occurs at the University Teaching and Research farm.
According to an informed source, precious stones were being extracted from the river within the teaching hospital complex.

Our correspondent was informed by one of our sources—who pleaded not to be identified—that "I cannot ascertain what they are mining at other locations."

There are other mining sites nearby besides Road 7. And there are a tonne of others. At the university's teaching and research farm, there is also an invasion taking place. "That mining site is really deep," the person continued.

Sadly, OAU is not the only place where these illegal miners have invaded.

IBADAN

Recall that on January 16 of this year, at around 7:44 p.m., there was a reported explosion in the Bodija neighbourhood of Ibadan, the state capital of Oyo, which resulted in the deaths of two people and the injuries of 77 others in addition to many property damage reports.

The incident was caused by illegal miners who had explosive devices hidden in one of the structures, according to state governor Seyi Makinde.

SAMFARA

In Zamfara state, illegal mining is becoming a more significant socioeconomic problem, particularly in the local government districts of Bukkuyum and Anka. Illegal miners are primarily exploring and stealing Zamfara's richly deposited gold, a task that is typically completed by local artisans and traders from surrounding nations, as well as Russia and China.

BENUE

One of the states with abundant solid mineral resources is Benue State. It is stated that the state has reserves of gold, coal, lead-zinc, barites, limestone, gypsum, clay, phosphate, glass sand, fluorspar, salt, ironstone, uranium, sulphur, graphite, cassiterite, manganese, and mica, among other minerals.

With the exception of Owupka, where it is purported that miners hold federal government licences, artisanal and small-scale mines operating in most of the state's settlements lack the necessary permits to engage in extraction activities within the communities.

There are additional reports of current illegal mining activities in other states, including Plateau, Nasarawa, Taraba, Borno, Niger, Kwara, Kano, Kebbi, Bauchi, and Kaduna.

CLAIMS AND COUNTERCLAIMS

The Miners Association of Nigeria's president, Dele Ayanleke, told Channels Television that during the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society's Annual International Conference and Exhibition in Jos from March 17–22, there was evidence of illegal miners on the OAU campus.

"At the current Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society Annual International Conference and Exhibition, which is being held in Jos, Plateau State, information regarding the matter was just released less than two hours ago. The Ministry stated that inquiries are still being conducted despite having recently received a petition from OAU authorities. This is the extent of my current knowledge of the subject. With gratitude, he replied to our correspondent on the social media site WhatsApp on March 19, 2024.

Dr. Adewale Adesiyan, a lecturer at OAU's Department of Geology, informed our correspondent that the dredging of the school dam is now underway at Road 7, despite the fact that he was not permitted to comment on the subject.

He answered, "I can tell you that the school dam is being dredged, but you should speak with the PRO."

Nonetheless, an additional academic instructor, who requested anonymity owing to the delicate nature of the subject, attested to the existence of illicit miners within the university.

Indeed, it is accurate. The university is currently being encroached upon by illegal miners, and their operations are having a detrimental effect on our property," he stated.

While a second person who talked with Channels Television acknowledged that there were illegal miners present, he added the school was also dredging its dam.
"Our beloved university occupies a very large land area. It reaches the known campus area and the Pre-degree campus on one side all the way to Moro town. It is traversed by the Ife-Ilesa bypass. However, it also stretches in the vicinity of Itamerin, near Osu town. There are possibly over a hundred villages on the land. As a result, there are numerous rivers and streams on the property, the principal one being the Opa River, which has numerous tributaries.

"With no recourse to the university, artisanal miners take advantage of the gullibility and greed of the locals to conduct alluvial mining on local streams. Some of them have even obtained mining licences on isolated regions of the enormous territory. Regretfully, a portion of these streams are actually tributaries of the Opa River, which is where the university dam is located. Thus, the silt and clay-rich mining waste products travel to the Opa River, where they end up in our dam and clog the canal that leads to it.

"To prevent the complete dewatering of the dam, whose water level has been dropping significantly over the last few years, the university must start dredging a portion of the river that runs to the dam, near the junior staff quarters. People who are unfamiliar with river dredging but not with alluvial mining and who lack the time to do an investigation are referring to this dredging as illegal mining, he said.

A other kid at the school criticised Dr. Adesiyan's account in a discussion.

"That is untrue. Not that they're dredging. It appeared to be dredging. It is the extraction of valuable stones from the area. How can they claim to be digging a dam there when there isn't even a river in the area? He's covering up whatever dredging he's talking about. The most amusing aspect is that Chinese individuals, not the institution, are the ones engaged in the illicit mining.

He added, "But it is extremely embarrassing and regrettable that the student body and staff unions have not taken a stance on the mining that is taking place directly on campus and have not put an end to this open looting of the university's mineral resources through this intrusion."

Ojo Akinremi, the president of the student union at the institution, was contacted via phone and messages from Channels Television. He did not, however, reply to our messages. He didn't answer his calls either.

As he was not the university's public relations officer, Union Secretary Akinboni Opeyemi informed our correspondent that he was unable to comment on the situation.

EFCC Overpowers OAU

It was subsequently discovered by Channels Television that on March 21, 2024, at approximately 3:20 p.m., representatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) visited the