Alagun of Itagunmodi, a town in Atakumosa West Local Government Area of Osun State, Oba Michael Famadewa-Kosile, on Monday, pleaded with the Osun State Government to immediately put an end to mining activities.
He said the state of insecurity across Ijesaland is directly linked to mining activities going on in the town and other adjoining villages.
Oba Famadewa-Kosile said the miners were degrading the land and engaging in criminal activities.
Speaking to our correspondent in Osogbo, the royal father said the large presence of the miners had aggravated security challenges facing the town, adding that he was kidnapped by some suspected Fulani men last year May.
The royal father denied giving out his palace to the miners and urged the state government to ensure adequate security in the area before mining would resume.
“I was kidnapped around 4:30 p.m. by 20 men on May 30th last year in Okiika junction on my way home from the hospital. I was thoroughly beaten by my abductors. My abductors also took N1.7 million from my vehicle. I managed to escape when my abductors slept off.
“Hausa miners have been living in Itagunmodi since 1920. I became king in 1995. Rather than stopping the mining, the government introduced the collection of levies. The solution to the security challenge is a total ban on mining,” the Alagun of Itagunmodi said.
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