The Edo State government has banned illegal felling of tree in the 49 forest reserves in the state to control deforestation, leading to the confiscation of over 2000 logs of wood at the Gelegele Seaport in Edo State by the state’s police command.
The spokesperson for the state police command, SP Bello Kontongs, disclosed that the seizure was done to follow the directives given to the police by Governor Godwin Obaseki to check-mate activities of illegal loggers in the state.
The increasing need for land in agricultural, industrial and urban expansion to contain cities and their growing population is continuously leading to the global compromise of forest resources to an all-time low of about 30 percent.
It is estimated that 18 million acres of forest are lost each year because of deforestation, which can have a big impact on both the environment and the ecology.
Kontongs noted that the woods are being taken illegally to all parts of the world, leading to a high rate of deforestation, and that the forest reserves are for the benefit of all Edo people, which makes the government order the Commissioner of Police, Philip Ogbadu, to arrest and check the activities of the criminals.
He explained that those illegal loggers escaped by jumping into the river on sighting the marine police, adding that the illegal activities of the loggers are impacting negatively on wildlife, while the logs recovered will be handed over to the state government by the CP in due course.
“The seized logs are not just from Gelegele, but also from all the forests in the state. Some have already crossed to Ondo, and we are working with the marine police in Ondo to recover the logs, “he stated.
