A Civil Society Organization – The Ecological Action Advocacy Foundation (TEAF) – has called for an immediate halt to mining activities in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State particularly in Igarra, Ipesi, Dagbala, among other communities.

The organization said the call became necessary in order for the companies operating in the area and the communities to come to a round table and discuss the terms and conditions of operations.

INFO DAILY reports that the one-day dialogue event drew participants from communities where mining activities are taking place in Akoko-Edo and the civil society community.

Speaking at the one-day Community Dialogue on Halting Extractive Activities in Akoko-Edo, an environmentalist and climate justice campaigner, Comrade Cadmus Atake-Enade, lamented that “mining and extractive activities have rendered community people hopeless in their own lands, hence need to stop.”

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“We must stand in unity to halt these destructive activities and actions. We must stand firm to halt all forms of extractive activities that have destroyed our lives and wellbeing,” he added.

The environmentalist, who noted that “communities where extractions have taken place experience mostly negative impacts,” stressed that “mining and the extractive industries are among the most destructive sectors on the planet, especially for indigenous and farming communities.”

He added: “These activities pose grave threats to cultures and community life because it takes generations for them to recover from the damages done to their community environment.

“Most of these negative impacts are usually in the rural areas where smallholder agricultural production is carried out in Africa and where the bulk of extraction occurs.

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“Most of our farmers are women and they are disproportionately affected by mining and extractive activities.”

Giving a damning narration on how a JSS 3 student lost her life in the course of looking for her daily bread,
Angela Alonge from Ipesi community, while listing the risk involved in mining sites, said “a JSS 3 student who went to look for her daily bread in one of the mining sites lost her steps and fell into the pit and died at the spot. A pit deep enough to contain a 10-storey building. It is pathetic.”

She added: “The children in our communities are used like rags. The children are fending for themselves and the family. The community does enjoy any positive impact from mining.”

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Joseph Lawson from Igarra community, lamented that rather than being a blessing to the people, the reverse is the case, adding: “Mining ought to create jobs for the community but the reverse is the case. Mining could cause earthquakes.”

Lawson, who urged the state government to re-register the over fifty mining companies in the area with a view to regulating them, urged the government to also intervene in the incessant clash between the communities and the mining companies.

Also, Precious Momoh from Igarra, lamented that “God has blessed us with natural resources yet we are suffering. We have limestone that they use for road construction yet we have no road.”

He added: “We need empowerment and development in our communities. People cannot be earning billions from our communities while we remain in abject poverty. Also, there should be rules and regulations for these mining companies.”

There seems to be solution at sight to the crisis bedeviling Okomu community in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State following the setting up of Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee by prominent Ijaw monarchs drawn from Edo, Ondo, Delta and Bayelsa states.

The setting up of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee by the Ijaw kings followed a request by His Royal Majesty, Pius Yanbor, the Pere (king) of Okomu Kingdom to his Ijaw brothers peres (king), appealing to them to intervene in the crisis that had led to the burning of houses and loss of lives.

Worried by the crisis and the consequent appeal by HRM Pius Yanbor, the Ijaw peres (kings), namely, HRM, Oboro Gbaraun II, the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Delta State; HRM, Zacheus Egbunu, the Agadagba of Arogbo Kingdom, Ondo State; HRM, Capt. Frank Okiakpe, the Pere of Gbaraun Kingdom, Bayelsa State; HRM, Joel Ibane, the Pere of Iduwini Kingdom, Delta State; HRM, Godwin Ogunoyibo, the Pere of Olodiama Kingdom, Edo State; HRM, Eseimokumor Ogonikara I, the Pere of Tubutoru Kingdom, Ondo State; HRM, Roman Bohan, the Pere of Furupagha Kingdom, Edo State, and HRM Stephen Ebikeme, the Pere of Oporomor Kingdom, Bayelsa State, in an acceptance memo of the Okomu king’s request which was made available to INFO DAILY stated: “We, the undersigned traditional rulers of Ijaw extraction, have unanimously aligned in agreement to take a deep dive into the crisis that has been rocking and bedeviling Okomu Kingdom for the past three years, with a view to providing respite and bringing lasting peace to the aforementioned kingdom.”

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They continued: “This alignment however, is a fallout of a series of robust engagement amongst well-meaning and revered monarchs of Ijaw extraction, whose primary role in their various Kingdoms is to foster peace and unity.”

The Ijaw monarchs, thereafter, appointed Chief Sunday as the Chairman of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, High Chief Pascal Akpofagha as the General Secretary and 16 other notable Ijaw sons from various kingdoms as members.

The 18-member committee is saddled with the responsibility of interfacing with the warring parties in the kingdom with a view to restoring lasting peace to the kingdom.

The revered Ijaw monarchs further expressed their commitment to providing the necessary support and work with the committee within the ambit of the law in order to ensure peace and harmony return to Okomu Kingdom.

Ahead of World Day Against Child Labour, a report released on Wednesday by the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Children’s Fund has shown that nearly 138 million children were engaged in child labour in 2024.

The figure included 54 million engaged in hazardous work that endangered their health, safety, and development.

“Today, nearly 138 million children are in child labour worldwide, down from 160 million four years ago.

“There are over 100 million fewer children in child labour today than in 2000, even as the child population increased by 230 million over the same period,” the report stated

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World Day Against Child Labour is marked on June 12 every year and International Day of Play is marked on June 11.

The report revealed that while child labour had declined by more than 20 million since 2020, the world had missed its target of ending child labour by 2025.

It noted that since 2000, child labour had almost halved, yet current rates remained too slow.

To end child labour within the next five years, the report said the current rates of progress would need to be 11 times faster.

“While the elimination of child labour remains an unfinished task, there is some welcome news.

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“After a concerning rise in child labour captured by the global estimates for 2020, a feared further deterioration in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has not materialised, and the world has succeeded in returning to a path of progress.

“This success can be attributed to some well-known policy imperatives that, if sustained and scaled-up, could bring about an end to child labour,” the report stated.

It highlighted that the policies included ensuring free and high-quality schooling to provide a worthwhile alternative to child labour and help ensure successful transitions from school to decent work.

Others were equipping education systems to support the school-to-work transition, particularly for older adolescents who face heightened occupational safety and health risks in the labour market; strengthening legal protections against child labour, aligned with international standards to lay the groundwork for effective prevention and enforcement, among others.

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The report also said targeted policies to end child labour must go hand in hand with broader development strategies.

“And to be fully effective, child labour concerns must be systematically mainstreamed into economic and social policy planning – from macroeconomic frameworks to labour market reforms and sectoral strategies.

“The latest estimates underscore the magnitude of the challenge of ending child labour. They also point to progress, and in doing so, affirm the possibilities.

“We have the blueprint for success – the right policies, adequate resources and unwavering commitment. Now is the time to act to free future generations from child labour,” it added.