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Enugu seals illegal mining sites at Nsude, Akwuke as Commissioner warns environmental disaster inevitable

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• Illegal mining site at Akwuke, Enugu South LGA
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• Residents, communities kick, demand prosecution

The Enugu State Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Prof. Sam Ugwu, has lamented the extensive damage illegal coal miners had done to the environment in the state.

The Commissioner, who is the Chairman of the Committee on Review of Mining Activities in Enugu State, disclosed this on Monday, while carrying out environmental assessment and enforcement of the state order sealing the sites of the illegal mining activities at Nsude and Akwuke communities, both in Udi and Enugu South Local Government Areas, respectively.

Leading a team of experts alongside the Special Adviser to the Governor on Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Kingsley Nnaji, the Commissioner said the illegal deforestation, diversion of water bodies and degradation of hundreds of hectares of land by the miners could trigger ecological disaster if nothing was done to prevent further unregulated mining activities in the state.

According to him, “It is unfortunate that this kind of damage is going on in Enugu State without the approval of the Enugu State Government. It is very very sad. The government is not happy about it, and we will continue this way till we close all the mining sites in Enugu State. It has caused a lot of ecological damage.

“It will take many years for Enugu State to recover from this humongous damage on our environment.

“We are really worried about what is going on, and we are sealing them. These criminal acts are unacceptable. There will be no more activities here. We will be monitoring them morning and evening and ensure the places we have sealed are not tampered.”

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However, Prof. Ugwu, while serving a letter of invitation on the miners, said those with genuine mining licences, approvals and other evidence of compliance with the standard practice should visit the State Government for verification.

He further called on genuine investors who are willing to invest in the energy and minerals sector of the economy to approach the state through the laid down process, maintaining that the government was interested in making the state attractive for investors by derisking investment flow.

Meanwhile, residents and communities across the state have continued to protest against the activities of the illegal miners, saying that the miners had been threatening them with security agencies and unlawful arrests by operatives illegally attached to protect them at the various sites.

They called for the arrest and prosecution of those destroying the environment, insisting that the miners had no stake in the state as most of them were not from the state even as the coal was being transported outside Enugu State for industrial use and export purposes.

An environmental expert in the state, Engr. Amara Victor, said the mining activities should be taken as a time-bomb that would trigger ecological and environmental catastrophe if the state government did take decisive steps to enforce the closure of those sites.

Engr. Raphael Edeh, a soil and environment impact assessor, who had been following the trends of the illegal mining activities, called on the government to go after the culprits destroying the state and the insiders colluding with them, adding that the state could soon experience landslides and earthquake if no proactive measure was taken.

He said the environment in certain communities were presently contaminated such that farming activities and water could no longer be safe for drinking as the miners had already destroyed their sources.

At the mining sites at Nsude and Akwuke were a number of heavy-duty trucks, excavators, caterpillars, coal-loaded trailers, among other machinery used for the illegal mining activities.

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Enugu Lawyer rejects paternity claim after DNA Test results

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A legal practitioner, Barrister Chinedu Ifeanyi Iloeje, has publicly declared that a man previously believed to be his son is not biologically related to him, following the outcome of a DNA test.

In a public notice published in a newspaper, Iloeje stated that he was allegedly misled by the man’s mother into believing that the individual, identified as Chinedu Francis Iloeje, was his biological son.

According to the notice, DNA testing conducted on the matter established “beyond any doubt” that the man is not his son.

The lawyer further clarified that he never legally adopted the individual, despite the latter bearing the name Chinedu Francis Iloeje.

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Barrister Iloeje explained that the man’s original name is Chinedu Francis Onwualu and stressed that he has no legal or biological relationship with him.

The notice also informed members of the public, the Greater Iloeje Family, the Umuodu Village Union, Uwani Amokwe Town Union, St. Theresa’s Catholic Church Amokwe, Udi Local Government Council, and other stakeholders of his declaration.

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He stated that the disclaimer was made in good faith and while of sound mind, urging the public to take note of the clarification.

The publication has sparked discussions on paternity disputes and the increasing reliance on DNA testing to resolve questions of biological parentage.

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Obi donates N10 million to burnt hospital in Enugu

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Mr Peter Obi presenting a cheque of 10 Million Naira to assist in the renovation of the burnt Mother of Christ Specialist Hospital, Enugu State.
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Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the forthcoming 2027 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, has donated N10 million to assist in the renovation of the burnt Mother of Christ Specialist Hospital, Enugu State.

The former Anambra State governor handed over the cheque for the donation to the hospital management team when he visited the hospital yesterday.

The hospital belongs to the Reverend Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of the Catholic Church.

Mr Peter Obi inspecting the burnt hospital

Addressing the hospital management team after inspecting parts of the burnt hospital, the NDC presidential candidate commended them for their efforts in contributing to healthcare delivery services.

Telling them that even though they might feel that they were not being appreciated for what they were doing, Obi, however, described healthcare delivery services and education as among the “most critical needs of society” and urged them not to relent in what they were doing.

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Accompanied during the visit by his Chief of Staff, Commissioner for Housing, as well as Special Adviser on Media when he was Anambra State governor, Prof. Stella Okunna, Prof. Patrick Obi, and Dr. Valentine Obienyem respectively, Obi assured the hospital management team that he would continue to support them.

Part of the hospital gutted by the inferno and inspected by Obi was the Children’s Ward.

Expressing gratitude on behalf of the hospital management, the Chief Medical Director of Immaculate Heart Hospital, Nkpor, Anambra State, Rev. Sister Dr. Maria Nkiruka Okafor, eulogised Obi for his sacrifices and selfless contributions to humanity.

Disclosing that Obi had already credited the hospital’s accountant with the N10 million donation and that he was even the person who called her to inform her that he had received the sad news of the inferno and promised to donate towards the renovation, Rev. Sister Okafor described him as a rare politician.

She prayed that God would grant him his ambition to become President of the country and enable him to achieve his desire to transform it.

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FG, Enugu State target direct China-Enugu Cargo flights by December – Keyamo

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Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo
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The Federal Government and Enugu State Government are in talks to ensure the commencement of direct cargo flight operations between Enugu and Guangzhou, China, before the end of the year.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Barr Festus Keyamo, disclosed this in Lagos during the launch of the United Air’s newly acquired airplanes on Thursday.

The Minister added said the FG had affected a structural management overhaul at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, also bringing the airport under a privately run operational framework.

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“One of our prides in the South is the Enugu International Airport. The Enugu governor approached Mr. President, noting that the airport was not maximising its economic potential under standard bureaucratic structures, and requested to bring in private investors to run it. Mr. President gave the green light.

“As I speak with you, Enugu is now fully privately owned and fully supported by state government, with the clear objective of also turning it into a dedicated cargo hub for the entire Southeast.”

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To this effect, therefore, Keyamo said that a high-level bilateral trade negotiations were ongoing with a view to securing direct logistics flights between China and the Southeast by the end of 2026.

“Just two days ago, the Enugu governor and I were actively negotiating the first direct cargo flight from Guangzhou, China, straight into Enugu.

“We are targeting December for the maiden flight. This will allow our Southeast merchants and traders in China to consolidate their goods into unified cargo accounts twice a week, flying straight into Enugu for seamless delivery to hubs like Onitsha and Aba,” he concluded.

It is recalled that Governor Mbah had in July 2025 launched Enugu Air, a state-owned airline, as part of the administration’s integrated blueprint for a modern, multimodal transport ecosystem and the vision to make Enugu a major aviation and logistics hub.

Since then, Enugu Air has grown its fleet from three at inception to six planes with plans to further increase it as it prepares to commence operations to regional destinations like Accra, Libreville, Abidjan in next few months and long haul flight operations to various destinations around the world by the end of the year.

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