Illegal Logging: Name forest intruders or forfeit agreement, Ogun warns timber contractors

The Ogun State government has given Timber Contractors in Ijebu a seven-day ultimatum to provide the names of those who cut trees in the Queen’s and Buffer Zones, Area J1, basically reserved for the elephants inside forest reserve.

The Commissioner for Forestry, Engr. Tunji Akinosi, said this while addressing contractors at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

It would be recalled that there was outrage recently when saw millers, explorers and timber contractors stormed Abeokuta in protest against the alleged release of a notorious logger, Adetutu Ajayi, by the state  police command.

The aggrieved saw millers plying their trades in Ijebuland expressed concern over illegal logging at the Omo Forest Reserves in Ogbere, Ijebu-East  Local Government Area of Ogun State. They accused the state government and the police of culpability.

But the commissioner issued a seven-day ultimatum to them to name those aiding and abetting the illegal activities in the forests.

He declared that failure to identify them within the stipulated period would lead to forfeiture of their agreements.