Titus Eleweke, South East Editor
AWKA, Anambra – Tipper drivers and sand minners in Anambra State have cried out to Governor Soludo over intimidation, harassment and extortion by the men of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra, OCHA Brigade .
The groups during a peaceful protest at the National Inland Waterways compound Onitsha on Friday said the Ocha Brigade has been intimidating, harassing and extorting money from them even directly in a federal government establishment .
Addressing the Area Manager of NIWA, Onitsha, Sir Victor Nwaokeocha, President General of Anambra State Sand Miners Association, Mr Christopher Mbaegbu said they were at the NIWA office Onitsha to complain to the manager of about what is happening to their business.
According to him everyday they are running from where they are doing their legitimate business because of the harassment by the men of Ocha Brigade.
“I don’t know why Anambra State is different from other states in the country.
“A week today, on Friday the Ocha Brigade came and carried more then 20 trucks and took them to Upper Iweka, they also carried pay loaders ,trucks and our equipment,they carried over 21 workers ,the drivers, women carrying babies,and locked them up for two days and we used over N1 million to get them released from Ocha Brigade detention.
“How long shall we continue in this suffering ,that is why we decided to come lay out complain to our land Lord NIWA about what is happening” he said .
Flaunting some documents issued by the NIWA and ministry of mines, he said he wanted to know if they are fake ,the area manager should tell them so that they will follow state instead of suffering this problems.
” Every day we are running , they have even drove away all our customers.
Even if we have done wrong as miners what have the tipper drivers done?
They seize their truck with full load of sand for over one week and they have been doing that over the period. Last week they carried 21 people in our business premise which is within the right of ways as approved by NIWA and we bailed them with over Million naira.
They released each person in the sum of N300,000 to N200,000 .
“We want our governor to see see and intervene in this our problem in the state.
We have licence and we met the requirements before NIWA gave us approval for right of way,we met the requirements before the ministry of mine give licence,why can’t the Anambra State government allow us to do our business?he asked.
According to Mbaegbu, “we have written the Anambra State government severally asking them what they want us to do so that we can go about our lawful business without harassment,and extortion,but they have not told us anything .
“If you meet Ocha Brigade Managing Director Celestine Anere, he tell you that it is Prof Charles Oforegbu that will release our vehicles.
“What have we done! We want the governor to intervene and tell us our sins.
We have met NIWA severally and also done several letters to that effect ,yet we are not getting any thing better” he stated.
He added that Ocha Brigade will come in and invade their business centre arrest their members , sales girls ,carry away their equipment without telling them their offence.
According to him when they are arrested they only tell them to come to AWKA.
He said that the most worrisome is they were arrested within the limit of where they are permitted to do business by law of federation.
Mbaegbu disclosed that they will come in arrest them and seal their business areas that is under federal government exclusive list.
“We are serving two masters , NIWA and Ministry of Mine ,we have submitted our documents empowering us to for business as approved by federal government to Anambra State Ministry of Justice , Attorney General, Commissioner for Miners .
We are not going outside the NIWA ,we are also going to federal ministry of mine to report to them in AWKA, the state capital” he added.
Also speaking during the peaceful protest, Uche Okafor,a sand miner,said they are here to tell NIWA about the ordeal they are passing in the hands of Anambra government.
According to him, they have documents issued by the federal government authorizing them to carry out their legitimate business within the NIWA right of way in Onitsha.
He said the harassment and extortion by Ocha Brigade did not start today , noting that it has been on since 2024 when the MD Celestine Anere left his primary duty to assume duty of miners in the whole state.
According to him, Anere will forcefully invade the beach and arrest any human being, and all equipment they see.
” As I am talking to you my wheel loader,I used my entire life saving to buy last year worth over N200 million to buy has been forcefully taken away. They took it away last Friday from the beach and left it at Upper Iweka iweka.This machine is highly censored.Any thing could cause serious damage that will cost a fortune ,people who don’t know any thing will forceful drag it with out minding if there will be any damage. When I met him to enquire of my offence,he said he had order from above ” he lamented.
He said that most regrettably,when he arrest any person he will not collect money directly but he will refer you to his Junior for monetary negotiations.
” On that of my wheel loader was taken he instructed his lieutenant to ask me to pay N5m before he will release it. The wheel loaders did not commit any offense ,this is what we are experiencing since 2024 under Celestine Anere
“We pay IGR to the government,and we as also pay for pay loading instead a day” he said
Also speaking,Prince Augustine Akigwe,president of tipper association Anambra State ,said that Anambra State government should tell them where to operate and where not operate.
According to him,even when we went to Prof Oforegbu he referred them to Ocha Brigade for direction and up till today they have not told us anything.
He said they want the governor to intervene in their problem as a listening governor which he had always been.
According to him,the governor may not have known the problem they undergoing in the hands of Ocha Brigade.
“We are one of the major revenue contributors in the state and yet they will not allow us to do our business with Peace of minds ” added.
Speaking to journalists, the Area Manager, NIWA Onitsha,Sir victor Nwaokeocha, wondered what the governor will be able to tell the world why he is allowing his state actors to act irresponsible to the tax payers.
According to him, the actions of state actors on the innocent citizens has been on for years unchecked by the governor.
According to him, most of those actions are carried on by the local government area chairmen,and recently the Ocha Brigade joined.
“I don’t know why they should be invading and disturbing people who were given permits to operate from appropriate quarters.
“NIWA has done a lot of letters to Attorney General of the State, Commissioner for Justice,we have done letter to Ocha Brigade and we have even done letter to the state house of assembly,I personally reported to the speaker of the state.
“I don’t know why the governor will watch the state actors pull down this state. They don’t have any legal backing to go to those places they are going to. NIWA is a federal government agency under the Ministry of Marines ,given exclusively rights to register all activities in Nigerian internal water, to extend that we have a supreme Court ruling in favour niwa last year.
NIWA Act,section 13 and subsection 2 ,it is boldly written that no person shall obstruct right of way including states, take sand, gravel or stone from the water way, or divert the water. The governor should call his state actors to order ” he added.
He disclosed that he has reported these actions by the Anambra State actors to office in Abuja and he will be going to their Abuja next week with all the petition and letter from the sand miners and individuals .
Reacting,the MD of Ocha Brigade Comrade Celestine Anere denied invading their business to extort money from them.
According to him,they told them severally that they need to register with government of the state to be able to operate.
He stated that any person without permits should not go there to mine or carry sand.
“The miners should register before they are allowed to operate there to carry sand ” he said .
According to Anere,the problem they have with tipper drivers is that they are spraying sand on the roads which is harmful to those roads .
“Go to marine road and others ,you will see the damage they are causing on our roads. They will be littering the roads with water and sand thereby destroying our roads. What we are saying is that they should be regulated. That they should get state government approved licence to mine officially ” he added .
Reacting on the federal government ownership bid where they mine sand,he said that they are still using state roads.
