National Park Service Arrests 14 Illegal Miners in Cross River
Oru Leonard
A magistrate court in Akamkpa Town of Cross River Sate has sentenced Fourteen (14) Miners to 6 months imprisonment for committing illegal mining and other related offences in Cross River National Park on 19th July, 2023.
Judge Okokon Essien of Akamkpa Magistrate Court found the Fourteen Miners guilty for illegal mining and entering the Park as charged by the Park and pleaded guilty by the Miners. The Judge while pronouncing the judgment said the activity of the Miners in the Park contravened the Service’s laws section 31(1) (p) on illegal mining, section 29 (1) on illegal entry and section 31 (1) (g) on destruction of vegetation as act likely to harm the fauna and flora of the Park as stated in section 30 (1) (o) of the Service’s laws. The Judge added that these violations left the Court with no option than to jail each of the Miners for 6 months or fine each of them N200,000 as provided by the Service’s law section 37 (2) (c), 37(1), 37(2) (b) & 37 (2) (b) respectively.
The Illegal Miners were caught in the act at Ifumpa axis of the Park and arrested by a combined team of rangers of Cross River National Park. After passing the judgment, all the convicted Miners were taken to Correctional Service Centre in Calabar to serve their jail terms having failed to pay their fines.
