BREAKING: Anambra Community Cries For Help, Homes Submerged, 10 Dead Over Illegal Sand Excavation Activities | Sahara Reporters

The residents called on the Anambra State government and relevant authorities to immediately inspect the affected site and establish the extent of the environmental damage.

Residents of Uga Community in the Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State have raised the alarm over a worsening ecological disaster caused by illegal and unregulated sand excavation activities in the area.

The residents told SaharaReporters that the activities, which have reportedly continued for years, have resulted in the emergence of dangerous gullies, the submergence of homes and the destruction of parts of the community’s natural landscape.

The affected area is said to be located around Umudimisii-Umuoru in Uga, where residents are also increasingly worried that the advancing gullies could eventually consume portions of a newly completed road network constructed by the Anambra State government.

The residents called on the Anambra State government and relevant authorities to immediately inspect the affected site and establish the extent of the environmental damage.

They also urged authorities to probe the activities of private individuals, companies, alleged government agents and any other persons who may have participated in or facilitated the excavation.

They further demanded that anyone found to have violated relevant environmental or mining laws should be prosecuted.

According to a civic organisation, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), which is also aware of the environmental disaster, no fewer than 10 people have allegedly lost their lives in the affected area, while dozens of buildings have either been submerged or threatened by the expanding erosion and gullies.

The organisation warned that thousands of residents, including affluent and less privileged members of the community, are now at risk of losing their homes, ancestral properties and other inherited assets if urgent intervention is not undertaken.

In a petition drawing attention to the situation, Intersociety said the ecological degradation had become so severe that it posed an immediate threat to an estimated 22,000 indigenes and other residents connected to the affected area.

The organisation called for urgent government intervention, including an on-the-spot assessment of the site and a comprehensive investigation into the activities of those allegedly responsible for the excavation.

According to findings contained in the petition, private individuals allegedly began moving into the area years ago and commenced extensive sand excavation activities.

The excavation reportedly involved the use of large numbers of youths and heavy-duty trucks to remove sand and stones from the area.

The activities were carried out in an indiscriminate and largely unregulated manner, gradually altering the natural topography of the community and leaving large portions of the land exposed to erosion.

It was further alleged that some of the operators had links to government officials or appointees, although the claims were not independently established in the petition.

The environmental consequences, it said, have become increasingly severe, with gullies developing around the excavation sites and extending towards residential areas and roads.

The situation reportedly generated resistance from community leaders and residents who had become concerned about the possible destruction of their ancestral homes.

The issue became contentious that stopping the sand excavation reportedly became an issue during the election of new leaders of the Umudimisii Development Union.

Following the election, members of the Umudimisii Quarter were said to have resolved that further excavation activities should be stopped in order to allow the community to begin efforts to reclaim and stabilise the affected environment.

The decision was reportedly communicated to the traditional ruler of Uga, the Obi of Uga, Igwe Chidi S. Ezenwugo, as well as the President-General of the Uga Improvement Union and the Chairman of the Umuoru-Uga Village Union.

The excavation activities were subsequently said to have been stopped and the site closed by the affected community.

However, the controversy allegedly took another turn when leaders of the Umudimisii Development Union were reportedly summoned by officials of the Department of State Services (DSS).

According to reports, the chairman of the development union, Nze Ibeabuchi Umeugochukwu, was summoned three times by a DSS unit under the Anambra State Directorate in Amawbia.

The organisation said Umeugochukwu explained to the operatives the environmental dangers confronting the community and the concerns of residents whose homes and ancestral properties were allegedly under threat.

The community leader was also subsequently compelled to sign an undertaking that would facilitate the reopening of the site for the continuation of sand excavation.

The organisation described the alleged intervention as puzzling, particularly because the community had reportedly taken a collective decision to stop further excavation over fears of environmental degradation.

It also called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the alleged DSS intervention and why a security agency would reportedly become involved in a dispute over an environmentally sensitive excavation site.

Beyond the destruction of land and homes, residents are also worried about the impact of the excavation activities on roads in the area.

According to reports, heavy-duty trucks used to evacuate excavated sand and stones have placed considerable pressure on the community’s road network.

The organisation specifically identified the Nkwo-Obizi Road and the St. James-Ugwunwocha-Obizi Road, which it said were recently completed by the administration of Governor Charles Soludo.

The group claimed that the roads were already suffering from the impact of the heavy trucks moving through the area.

It further warned that the emerging gullies were dangerously close to the newly constructed road network, raising fears that continued excavation and erosion could eventually undermine the roads.

According to the petition, the constant movement of heavy-duty trucks has damaged existing roads and made it difficult for community members to carry out some of their own road improvement initiatives.

The concern is that what began as a dispute over sand excavation could eventually develop into a much larger infrastructure crisis if the erosion reaches major roads linking the community to surrounding areas.

Intersociety attributed the alleged deaths in the area to incidents involving submerged properties, building collapses and violent disputes allegedly connected to ownership and control of the excavation site.

The organisation said the fatalities
were a warning of what could happen if the situation is allowed to continue unchecked.
It also warned that the danger extends beyond people living immediately around the excavation site because the expanding gullies could eventually affect adjoining homes, roads and other infrastructure.

For families whose homes and ancestral properties are located in the affected area, the issue is therefore not simply an environmental dispute but a question of whether they can continue to live safely on land inherited from previous generations.

The organisation described the potential loss of ancestral homes and properties as particularly serious because many of the affected residents are believed to have deep family and historical connections to the land.

Another major issue raised in the petition is whether the excavation activities were subjected to the required environmental and community processes.

Intersociety said it found no evidence of Environmental Impact Assessments or Community Development Agreements relating to what it described as “industrial scale” sand excavation in the area.

The organisation also alleged that there were no readily traceable official records showing proceeds from the excavation activities in the Internally Generated Revenue records of the Anambra State Government.

It therefore called for a thorough investigation into the financial and regulatory aspects of the activities.
Among those identified by members of the Umudimisii Development Union as allegedly involved in the excavation activities were Nze Ndubuisi Egbogu, described as Managing Director of Blessed Egbogu Motors Ltd, and Blessed Egbogu Motors Ltd, which the petition identified as the mining company.

The organisation cautioned against the area becoming a centre of youth militancy, banditry or what it described as “clan warlord-ship” if the dispute is not properly resolved.

It urged authorities to act before the environmental crisis degenerates into a prolonged conflict between groups claiming ownership or control of the land and its mineral resources.

For the residents, the central concern remains the physical survival of their community.
The advancing gullies, submerged structures and damaged roads, according to the petition, represent a danger that could become increasingly difficult and expensive to reverse if action is delayed.

The situation also highlights the broader environmental challenges facing communities in parts of Anambra State, where erosion has historically posed a serious threat because of the nature of the state’s soil and terrain.