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It was like interpreting a war movie script. Across the country, well-armed criminal gangs have zeroed attention on invading Nigeria’s protected areas in search of mineral resources and they are willing to eliminate and destroy anything or persons at sight with any perceived resistance.
Nigeria’s national parks, 17 in number, hold in trust for generations unborn critical, and unique flora and fauna resources, including several mineral resources, assets vital to national socioeconomic development and advancement in science, agriculture, fisheries, green tourism, hydrology, pharmacology and climate change.
The laboratory values of Nigeria’s conserved biosphere ecosystem are intrinsic and, over time, have become the destination of illegal loggers and, now, illegal mining agents, armed to the teeth and ready to spill blood.
These earth rapers suspected to be special units of the rampaging army of insurgents from Zamfara and Niger states operate in coordinated and clandestine militarism, ready to pull the trigger at anyone or group that may stop them from their illegal mining activities.
Recently, at the rich biosphere space of Old Oyo National Park, the criminals, in connivance with strange cattle breeders also suspected as cross-border cow minders, invaded the park and, when confronted by the eagle-eyed team of park rangers, resisted arrest and subsequently pulled out their hidden arsenal of sophisticated guns and wasted two gallant rangers.
Unfortunately for the criminals, the two rangers, before being gunned down, had called for reinforcement, which speedily ambushed their escape from the scene of crime and arrested 37 of them who were now guests of the Nigerian police. No doubt, they have a date with the courts soon for murder and wilful and deliberate damage of earth resources under protection.
In Niger State, the park rangers at Kainji Lake National Park, in collaboration with the Nigerian military, have made life unbearable for the invading army of nature criminal elements determined to exploit resources under protection to fund their insurgency and purchase ammunition.
In Cross River National Park, rangers, in swift response, proactively engaged heavily armed illegal miners in the Ifumpa axis of the Akamkpa sector of the park, neutralised their effort and arraigned them in court.
It was a red flag operation, a critical warning signal by the National Park Service, under Dr. Ibrahim Goni, the Conservator-General of the Federation, to all illegal loggers, miners, grazers and poachers of fauna and flora resources that enough is enough, indicative of the grave consequences that await unwanted visitors to Nigeria’s protected green environment.
Justice Okokon Essisen, the presiding judge of the magistrate’s court in Akamkpa, clamped the nature terrorists to six months imprisonment, though with an option of N200,000 fine each.
Justice Okokon stated that the activities of the illegal miners in the park contravened section 31 (1) (p) on illegal mining and also on illegal entry as captured under section 30(1)[O] of the National Park Service laws.
The convicted miners languishing at the Calabar facilities of Nigerian Correctional Service were unable to meet the options of jail conditions as provided by section 37( 1) 37(2) [c] 37(1) (2) [b], respectively.
Lamenting the renewed interest by illegal mining agents in the parks across the country, the Conservator-General disclosed that all unit parks have been put on red alert to arrest and demobilise all strange and illegal visitors in the protected areas, adding that park rangers have paid the supreme price to ensure that the covers of Nigerian green biospheres are no longer bus stops for illegalities and market places for insurgents.
Consoling families of the two gallant rangers who lost their lives in the not-too-recent Old Oyo debacle, in the persons of the late Deputy Conservator of Park, A.P. Ayemboba and Chief Park Inspector, A. Adedokun, the CG praised the commitment and patriotic dedication of Nigerian park rangers, adding that the late officers did not die in vain and would not be forgotten in the history of conservation management in Nigeria.
He warned that national parks management would do everything in its power and in accordance with the laws to bring to justice any person and group that may want to turn Nigeria’s protected areas to endposts of illegal natural resources exploitation and destruction.
Nigeria, Dr. Goni further added, is troubled by enemies of its socioeconomic and political development in recent times who have vowed to stopat nothing and kill security agencies frustrating their rebellious activities, noting that NPS is ever-determined to keep away nature criminals from protected areas, particularly as the world is battling with the effects of climate change hazards driven by extremely misplaced aggression by the illegal activities of mankind, particularly daring rogues prospecting and speculating on earth resources for selfish reasons.
