Police seize over 2000 logs as Obaseki unfolds committee on arable land
The Edo State Police Command has confiscated over 2000 logs at the Gelegele Seaport in Edo State as the state government pushes towards ridding the state of illegal loggers.
At the sea port recently, the state command spokesperson, SP Bello Kontongs, stated that the confiscation was done in line with the directives given to the police by the state government.
He said the criminals escaped by jumping into the river on sighting the marine police who were saddled with the responsibility of check-mating the loggers’ illegal activities.
Kontongs also stated the logs were being shipped to Lagos for onward transmission to other parts of the world. He also disclosed that the logs intercepted in Ondo State would returned to Edo.
He said: “At the sea port here are the logs of wood seized from illegal loggers. The seizure was done after Governor Obaseki gave the order to the Commissioner of Police, Philip Ogbadu, to arrest and check the activities of the criminals”.
“The state government has banned the felling of three in the 49 forest reserves in the state. The woods are being taken illegally to all parts of the world, which the state government is against”.
The forest reserves are for the benefit of all Edo People. The level of deforestation is high, which is not to the benefit of everyone.
“Also, the illegal activities of the loggers are impacting negatively on wildlife, while the logs recovered will be handed over to the state government by the CP in due course”.
“The seized logs are not just from Gelegele, but also from all the forests in the state. Some have already crossed to Ondo and we are working with the marine police in Ondo to recover the logs,” he stated.
He also warned criminal elements to desist from their illegal activities as the state would be too hot for them to operate.
Meanwhile, Edo state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has inaugurated a 13-man committee to address the constraints of inadequate land for agriculture in the state.
Inaugurating the committee, Obaseki said it would work with the Foundation for Partnerships Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) to develop protocols for arable land for smallholder farmers in the state.
The Guardian
