The Niger State Government said it collected N5m fine from some illegal wood loggers after they were arrested and arraigned in a mobile court.
It said these illegal loggers took advantage of the large wood deposit in the state to steal and take them to neighbouring states to sell, noting that most of the woods in Abuja and neighbouring states were stolen from Niger State.
The state Commissioner of Information, Binta Mammam, disclosed this on Thursday during a post-executive council meeting press briefing.
“On the issue of deforestation, the illegal logging activities happened around Mokwa Forest. Illegal wood loggers come from outside Niger State with their trucks and cart away our woods. That was when we quickly intervened. We dragged the suspects to a mobile court.
“Normally when these things happen, we call all the relevant stakeholders to give us an estimate of what the product is sold in the market. That happened last month. They were fined N5m which they paid,” she said.
The state Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Yakubu Kolo, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Suraju Sa’eed, disclosed that the state government had concluded arrangements to plant 10 million trees across the state while the World Bank would partner with the state to increase it to 19 million trees.
This, he said, would boost the government’s proposed Green Economy. Kolo explained that deforestation had become a major challenge in the country and needed to be resolved at all costs, hence tree planting became necessary and important to curb the menace.
