Ogun reads riot act to militants, poachers occupying reserves

Ogun State Government, on Wednesday, vowed to flush out militants and poachers occupying forest reserves in the state.

The government had in December last year ordered 17 illegal communities in the Omo Forest Reserve, in Ijebu-East/North LGA of the state, to vacate the region on or before January 15, 2024.

The communities are Eseke, Tamitami, Bridge, Korede, Fatai, Sojukorodo, Etemi-Gerald, Onigburugburu, Erifun, Aba Alhaja, Erimogan, Ologunna, Ori Apata, Imaba, Apora, Fatai 2 and Yomi Iga.

Speaking with newsmen on Wednesday in Abeokuta, Commissioner for Forestry, Engr Taiwo Oludotun, disclosed that officials of the ministry recently stormed some of the illegal communities and farm settlements and carried out demolition.

He said some of the occupants have turned themselves into militant groups thereby hindering the officials from performing their duties.

The commissioner said some of the illegal occupants poach into the elephants’ habitat, destroying biodiversity and ecological health of the forest.

Oludotun was reacting to a report of the alleged attacks on farmers at Etemi Gerald, one of the communities earlier issued vacation notice by the government.

According to him, one of the illegal occupants, Akinlolu Kehinde, had branded government officials who carried out the demolition at Etemi Gerald as hoodlums, saying no blackmail would stop the government from flushing illegal occupants out of the forest.

“Unfortunately, the inhabitants of Etemi Gerald entered into the natural heritage (in Omo Forest Reserve) and illegally built houses, cultivated several hectares of cocoa farms after brazenly destroying economic and conserved tree species preserved for research purposes.

“It is a known fact that farming and erection of permanent structures within the forest reserves without the consent of the state government is illegal,” the commissioner said.

Oludotun, however, said the government remains undeterred by the antics of mischief makers, saying “we will continue to bring up and pursue policies that engender the protection of our forest resources for the coming generation.”