STOP THE LOOTING OF OUR LAND, OR WE WILL DEFEND IT OURSELVES
To:
Governor Hope Uzodimma
Imo State Ministry of Environment
Ministry of Mines and Natural Resources
Imo State Environmental Protection Agency (ISEPA)
All relevant state and federal environmental and mineral resources regulatory bodies
We, the undersigned Concerned Citizens of Ihiagwa and Nekede Communities, write this with a heavy heart, growing outrage, and a deep sense of betrayal.
We issue this as a stern public outcry and warning to the sand dredging operators destroying our lands, and to the Imo State Government, whose deafening silence and suspected complicity is enabling this environmental disaster.
Our ancestral lands are under siege.
In Ihiagwa, Nekede, Obinze, and surrounding communities, over 25 illegal dredging operations are active, many concentrated around Umudoche, Umukoto, and the Nekede-Ihiagwa/FUTO axis along the banks of the Nworie and Otamiri Rivers. This is in flagrant violation of multiple official bans, including those dated February 28, 2018, May 23, and July 19, 2024, which specifically prohibited illegal sand mining in these areas.
Yet, today, these destructive activities continue in broad daylight, with little to no enforcement.
WHO IS BENEFITING FROM THIS SILENCE?
When approached, many of these dredgers boldly allege that government officials, particularly within the Ministry of Mining and Natural Resources, are actively involved in backdoor transactions, granting them immunity and allowing them to operate outside the law.
This is more than neglect, it is state-enabled environmental vandalism.
THE IMPACT: OUR LAND, WATER, AND LIVELIHOODS ARE BEING DESTROYED
The Nworie and Otamiri Rivers, vital to local water supply, farming, and spiritual heritage, are choked with pollutants and eroding banks due to reckless dredging and poor waste disposal.
Farmlands are vanishing.
Roads are collapsing.
Erosion is displacing families.
Marine life and aquatic ecosystems are dying off.
Entire communities risk being cut off from the state grid.
This is not just a local problem—it is an ecological time bomb that could explode across Imo State.
ENOUGH OF BRIBING YOUTHS AND SILENCING LEADERS
We are aware of efforts by some operators to bribe youths with stipends to look the other way while the land is degraded. We are aware of government functionaries turning blind eyes in exchange for envelopes. But let it be known:
Our silence is over. Our resistance is beginning.
WE ISSUE THIS PUBLIC WARNING TO ALL DREDGING OPERATORS:
- Cease all unauthorized dredging and mining activities immediately.
- Vacate all illegal sites in Ihiagwa, Nekede, and surrounding areas.
- Engage with community leadership, obtain proper environmental assessments, and secure transparent licensing—if any operations are to continue at all.
TO THE IMO STATE GOVERNMENT, WE DEMAND IMMEDIATE ACTION:
- Deploy ISEPA, ENTRACO, and the Ministry of Environment to conduct urgent environmental inspections of affected areas.
- Suspend and investigate all dredging licenses issued around the Otamiri and Nworie rivers.
- Enforce the previous government bans and prosecute violators.
- Create a clear, enforceable framework that balances environmental protection with development. Our health and heritage must come before profit.
IF THE GOVERNMENT FAILS TO ACT:
We, the people, will pursue peaceful resistance, class-action lawsuits, federal petitions, international environmental advocacy, and community blockade of all illegal sites. We will not allow this plunder to continue unchecked.
This is not political. This is not about party lines. This is a matter of survival, of protecting what remains of our environment for the next generation.
We are not asking. We are demanding.
Since our representatives will not speak for us, we will speak for ourselves.
Environmental justice is not negotiable. Enough is enough.
Signed,
Hon. Chimazuru Nnadi-Oforgu
For: Concerned Citizens of Ihiagwa and Nekede Communities
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 
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