Okposi Community seeks Gov. Nwifuru's help as sand miners invade Eziokposi High Sch

The Governor of Ebonyi state, Rt Hon. Francis Nwifuru has come under pressure to rescue the Okposi Community in Ohaozara local government area of the state from the invasion of sand miners.

In a Save Our Soul (SOS) alarm to the Governor, the community said that the sand excavation poses great danger to the safety of the staff and students of the Eziokposi High school where the said is being mined.

Residents of the area lamented that the sand miners invaded the School established in 1982, with heavy equipment including excavator and heavy duty trucks and carted away laterite from the school premises. 

The development created huge devastation to the topography of the school to the extent that the school's handball pitch was most affected as it was completely destroyed. Aside the degradation of the place, informed sources said the environmental implication could be enormous as there was no Environmental Impact Assessment conducted before the miners invasion.

Members of the community accused the invaders as close associates of state government officials, with some parents already withdrawing their children from the school for fear of any unforeseen accident.

A community member, who preferred to be anonymous, narrated the community's shock when they suddenly saw construction equipment invade the school and started excavating sand from the school premises on October 1st this year. 

According to him, “just as children resumed for the first term in the current academic session, we noticed that big trucks and caterpillar invaded the school and started excavating sand, even while children were in school.”

He said that the perpetrators of the act chose October 1 which was a public holiday, and many people in the area including the staff and students were involved in the Independence Day celebrations. 

However, it was gathered that both staff and students were shocked to have seen the level of damage to their premises on coming to school the next day.

They reportedly scampered for safety because no one was aware or pre-informed of the reason for the mining activities.

A source said that the school was wickedly destroyed while the mined sand was being taken to the neighbouring community where the local government is building a market.

Irked by what happened, the community leaders mobilized their people and embarked on a peaceful protest that eventually stopped the sand miners, though temporarily.

Despite the rejection and protests against their activities, another resident said that the “big government people” behind the excavation were threatening members of the community and the teachers for trying to stop them.

On visitation of the school, last week, the entire school premises was deserted and looked abandoned.

Many residents declined talking for safety reasons as according to one of them, “we have been warned not to say anything to anyone” for our own safety.

When visited, the contractor's equipment was still at the school premises with green leaves placed on it as a sign of the community's disapproval.

It was also noticed that the school has suffered long years of neglect as most of the buildings there had no roofs. The level of dilapidation there was heartrending.