Oyo community protest alleged exploitation of mines without compensation

…Urges govt to stop illegal mining activities
…We are not illegal miners – Achityle i

Community leaders and youths of Itasa, in Iwajowa Local Government Area, Oke-Ogun axis of Oyo State have staged a peaceful protest over alleged exploration and exploitation of its natural resources by a mining company, Architype Industries Nigeria Limited.

The youth and leaders who trooped out in hundreds said the mining company failed to fulfil due process of agreeing to a Community Development document of adequate compensation and rehabilitation of the environment.

The protesters who later headed to the palace of their king, the Onitile of Itasa, Oba Michael Sijuola Oyediran sang solidarity and protest songs while carrying placards with different inscriptions such as ‘Ajibade , leave our town, Stop destroying our town’, ‘Your activities are detrimental to our town’, ‘ Leave our town, now’, ‘ Your presence in our town is making things uncomfortable’, Ajibade must go’, ‘Itasa people reject Ajibade for illegal mining activities in our town’, ‘Architype must leave our land’, ‘Stop destroying our land’, ‘Engr. Ajibade is enslaving us over 25 years ago without CDA, leave our land’, ‘Illegal mining must stop’, ‘Itasa people are tired of illegal mining’, ‘ Gov Makinde, Itasa people seek your aid’, and others.

Femi Aborisade, the Managing Partner of ABOPE Chambers, Ibadan, who is the counsel to Itasa Community, Itasa Community Development Association and Oba Oyediran, Micheal Sijuola Ajibi, had between 2022 and 2025 written letters to Architype Industries Nigeria Limited.

The letters pointed out some of the infractions the company has and continues to commit, which included failure to conduct the Environmental Impact Assessment [EIA] before commencement of mining operations as stipulated under Section 131 of the Mining Act; non-submission of a valid Community Development Agreement [CDA], among others.

Odedele Isiaka Banji Community Development Leader of Itasaland, who spoke during the protest accused the mining company of undue exploitation.

Odedele Banji said: ‘’We are protesting because this man has been working in our land over the past 25 years without any particular project to his credit. There is no project to point to. We have written the CDA but he did not sign it.We wrote a letter to him to stop working on our land. As I am speaking now, they are still working on that site. He has not done what the community expects from him. There is no community representation on the mining site. The company is just doing things the way it likes. That makes all the youths and people in the town annoyed and they are saying they don’t want him again. He should either leave our town or sign the CDA. Ajibade must leave our land. He is doing illegal mining. The Mining Act says mining companies should liaise with the host community, and have the CDA but all these things are not there. We have written to all the security men in this local government. We have written to the Ministry of Solid Minerals in Ibadan and Abuja.

‘’Government should intervene so that the host community can enjoy what it is supposed to enjoy. He can’t continue to exploit our resources for profit making without doing the right thing for the host community. Engr. Ajibade should follow the rules and regulations and the Mining Act’’.

Muritala Busari, the Youth Leader of the community stated that ‘’the company has been working in our land for the past 25 years, but no solid CDA between the company and the community. Since then, he was just exploring and exploiting our resources. There is nothing to point to as a project done for the community. Any time we raised an issue on the benefits that are supposed to accrue to the community, the man would be begging. We don’t want any kick-back. Let him do the right thing for the community as enshrined in the law of the country. We have given him the CDA to sign but declined to do so. They don’t want to do any kangaroo agreement. Let him do the right thing. The community has given him a stop-work letter, yet he continues mining activities. No step has been taken so far. That is why we are staging this peaceful protest. We don’t want him again’’.

Also, the vice chairman of Itile Community Development, Itasa, Abiodun Oyetunji Jacob said: ‘’We are fighting for our rights.”

Oba Michael Sijuola Oyediran,Onitile of Itasa speaking with journalists after receiving the protesters, said ‘’I am in support of the protest. Ajibade has been working here for the past 25 years, nothing tangible he has done for the community. We have urged him to do the right things but all to no avail. As a result of that, the youths and community members said they would stage a peaceful protest, I asked them to go ahead but they must not do it on the mining site to avoid disaster. Ajibade has not done the right thing for the community and this has retarded our development. Some towns which are not as big as ours and don’t have the kind of resources we have here are benefiting a lot from their natural endowment. Why is our own different? The government should come to our aid and impress upon him to do the right things for the community so that we experience development. If he cannot do it, he should leave our community.’’

Adeniran Ajibade, owner of Achitype Industries Limited, while reacting said he is ready to return to the negotiation table with the community.

‘’I am not an illegal miner. I am duly licensed by the Federal Government to do what I am doing. I have held meetings with youths, the monarch and chiefs before.They should just let us continue with our negotiation. I am ready for a review of the terms of the agreement. We are willing to review the existing CDA under the supervision of the Mine Environment Compliance [MEC] Department of the Federal Ministry of Mining and Solid Minerals and relevant agencies,” he added.