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The Ibile Justice Forum, an advocacy group, has raised the alarm over ongoing illegal mining activities in the Iloro I, Iloro II, and Ibiri villages within the Ado-Odo community of Ogun State.
In a statement co-signed by Ifeoluwa Amoo and Ganiu Owolabi, Tuesday, the Forum expressed deep concern over the operations of SAF Investment and Property Company Limited. The group alleged that the firm has encroached upon a farm settlement dedicated to agricultural development, disrupting the livelihoods of the local agrarian population.
The statement read in part:”We are constrained to speak against the deliberate actions of SAF Investment and Property Company Limited, whose activities have rendered our community economically prostrate and environmentally unsafe. Our collective patrimony is being arbitrarily exploited to the detriment of residents whose livelihoods have been hijacked and left in ruins.”
The Forum further accused certain traditional institutions of complicity, alleging that they have “aided and abetted” the operations for personal gain.
According to the group, the continued mining defies Federal Government’s efforts to ensure the equitable distribution of natural resources. They also revealed that the Ministry of Agriculture had previously intervened.
“We are aware that SAF Investment and Property Company Limited was directed by the Ministry of Agriculture in a memo dated January 28, 2025, to stop all mining activities following the withdrawal of an initial approval granted on December 5, 2024,” the statement continued. “Why the company has chosen to remain on-site in defiance of this order is baffling and worrisome.”
The group noted that the situation has heightened tensions in the area, with residents living in “perpetual fear” of the environmental and social consequences of the unchecked exploitation.
The Forum called on the Federal Government, the Ogun State Government, and the Inspector General of Police to intervene immediately to forestall a breach of public peace and rescue the affected communities.
As of press time, efforts to reach an official of SAF Investment and Property Company Limited, Kazeem Adebanjo Safiriyu, were unsuccessful as his mobile contact remained switched off.
