In the second part of this investigation, Olugbenga ADANIKIN reveals how fake Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was presented to host communities, scientific proof of lead poisoning of village water sources and borehole among other irregularities yet the government keeps mum.
How legal is Dangote’s operation in Kogi Coal-mining communities?
“Subject to the provisions of this section, the Holder of a Mining Lease, SmaIl Scale Mining Lease or Quarry Lease shall prior to the commencement of any development activity within the lease area, conclude with the host community where the operations are to be conducted, an agreement referred to as a Community Development Agreement or other such agreement that will; ensure the transfer of social and economic benefits to the community.”
This is Section 116 of the Mining Act (2007). But this provisions is grossly flouted.
For almost six years, Dangote Coalmine Company operated on the minefield with no recourse to the CDA. It continued its illegal operation, until September 2016 when it commenced coal excavation in Awoakpali and Onupi communities.
Initially, Dangote Coalmine started coal exploration in Onupi village in 2014 without proper community consent – an exercise against the mining regulation. The Act says there must be consent and the CDA must have been signed to show approval of the host community prior mining activities. It is usually an indication that the host community have given their consent and had not been exploited in anyway. But that was not the case.
In fact, the CDA is a major requirement to acquire a mining lease from the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD) before proper excavation could commence.
“We just saw them in the bush working. So we challenged them,” Dominic, Onupi Youth Leader told The ICIR.
“After a while, they claimed the deceased HRH. Alh. Ahmadu Yakubu, regent of Ankpa gave them a go-ahead for exploration on the sites having signed a consent letter. But it turned out to be a different community, so they left for Awoakpali with their equipment.”
In Awoakpali, Adejoh, former Chairman of the community development association narrated an almost similar story. The only difference is that those whose land was captured started receiving benefits for crop losses only in 2016.
“We just saw them in the bush in November 2015 so our youths stopped them from working,” says Adejoh.
By January 2016, the mining firm had invited two community representatives – Elder Daniel Adejoh and a chief from Awoakpali to sign CDA without inputs or representation of the community’s lawyer.
“The following day, they brought the agreement drafted by the company. We were all novice. So we were compelled to sign.”
“Our only input in the former CDA is the name of the community,” Adejoh adds.
The Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIRECO) Office which represents both State and Federal officials in Kogi was reportedly in the dark, they were unaware of the agreement.
However, after the old CDA was signed, compensations were paid for the tree crops. Adejoh described the compensation as grossly inadequate, as also mentioned by another. The community leaders said they did not know that the excavations would take almost half of the community’s farmland.
The initial agreement also foot-dragged due to absence of an implementation timeline.
Meanwhile, while excavation was ongoing in Awoakpali, the Onupi Community had initiated discussions with other villages including Awoakpali to end the long exploitation and environmental losses. At this time, a year had passed.
As such, the seven host communities moved against Dangote Coalmine. They met with the Kogi State Ministry of Environment for intervention and further presented their concerns to the MIRECO which reportedly nullified the earlier CDA in 2018.
Dangote mine was eventually tasked to follow due process and the communities were advised as a group to invite their legal representatives. Barrister William Aliyu was consulted and he became the lawyer of the seven communities.
“MIRECO invited them and in the process, they cancelled the former CDA and they told us to provide a lawyer who will represent us – that is Barrister Williams Aliyu,” says Aliyu Suleiman, former Secretary of the Seven Member Committee of the host communities.
At last, the new CDA had inputs of the lawyer reflecting interests of the seven communities. It was signed and it took effect in July, 2019. But all through this period, mining was on-going.
An election was conducted among the concerned communities. Festus Ocheje from Awo emerged Chairman while an implementation committee was set up and inaugurated on 25th October.
A copy of the CDA obtained by The ICIR prior to the field visit revealed that, though coal mining in the respective communities commenced years before the new agreement, implementation would not start until five months after the pact was signed.
For instance, proposed health centres for the seven communities to be sited in Onupi and Awoakpali would commence in five months while that of boreholes started three months later.
Deeper study of the CDA also showed other anomalies such that two directors who appended their signatures on the CDA are without names or date. Moreover, a block of classrooms is to be erected for the communities within ‘first two years of operation,” starting from July 2019.
Others include reconstruction of schools also in the first two years of operation among others.
Meanwhile, the mining process commenced since 2014 and excavation in 2016 – years before the new CDA, yet community agreement took effect immediately.
Laboratory results indict Dangote mines, shows contaminated water
To ascertain the hygienic level of the provided borehole facility, The ICIR subjected the water to laboratory test. This is because community women complained of the taste.
“It tastes oily and strange,” women who were at the borehole facility told this reporter during the visit.
The essence of the test is to establish if the water body contained carcinogenic or harmful elements that could be harmful to public health such as lead or other harmful chemicals.
Initially, four samples were taken for study by the reporter from two communities Onupi and Awoakapli where active mining is taking place by the Dangote Coalmines. The samples were stream and borehole water from the communities.
But for the purpose of reliability, an independent body was later consulted by the Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), to visit the host communities for fresh samples and subsequent test.
The laboratory tested for hard metals such as Lead, Cadmium, Chromium including Sodium and Manganese among others. However, the test result showed a significant concentration of dangerous microbial elements- water and soil in comparison with the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard.
In Onupi, for instance, Lead level in the stream water was 5.21, 5.06 in the borehole while the WHO acceptable limit is 0.01. This definitely implies a high level of impurity in both water samples particularly the borehole with a slight difference from the stream water.
“The good foundation for the growth of organisms that causes illness to humans is the presence of Ammonia (NH3)15.16 & 18.25 mg/l respectively against Std 10 mg/l. The level constitutes pollution,” says James Nwachukwu, the lab service consultant. “The Lead (Pb) of 5.21 & 5.06 against 0.01 mg/l Std in the waters is very unhealthy for human consumption. Yet they consume the water for drinking and other domestic uses ignorantly.”
Moreover, the PH level of the water both stream and borehole is acidic based on the test result. The range goes from 0 to 14 with 7 being neutral. The PH for the stream is 6.0. For the borehole, it is 5.8 while the WHO acceptable standard is 6.0 to 9.0.