The Special Anti-Poaching Squad of the Cross River National Park has arrested 17 suspected illegal miners operating in Ekuri Eyenyen and Etara communities in Etung Local Government Area.
The arrests followed actionable intelligence on mining activities within the protected area, according to the Conservator of Parks, CP Joseph Ntui Assam.
Assam said mining, hunting, logging, farm encroachment and water poisoning were prohibited within the National Park, warning that the activities posed security, environmental and public health risks.
He said illegal mining had contributed to land degradation and pollution of streams and farmlands around Etara and Ekuri Eyenyen, leaving residents with limited access to safe sources of drinking water.
The conservator raised concerns over the alleged issuance of mining licences covering areas within or around the protected forest.
He said some licences issued by the Mining Cadastre Office in Abuja and the Federal Mines Office in Calabar had allegedly overlapped with areas reserved under the National Park, describing the situation as unacceptable.
The case of B4Live Integrated Services, registered by Ekpo Mbang Eno, has become central to the controversy. The company is linked to mining activities in the affected area.
The Cross River Commissioner for Mineral Resources, Effiom-Ekaha Otu, confirmed that B4Live was known to the state ministry and had obtained a federal mining licence.
Otu, however, said the licence might have overlapped with a reserved area, stressing that such an occurrence would require clarification from the Mining Cadastre Office rather than automatically making the licence holder an illegal miner.
Checks at the Federal Mines Office indicated that B4Live Integrated Services was granted a small-scale mining lease covering two cadastral units in Ekuri, Etung LGA.
The Federal Mines Officer in Cross River, Engr. Ayelabola Olubunmi, said overlaps between mining licences and protected areas were possible and that the National Park had previously raised concerns over such situations.
Eno denied hiring the 17 arrested miners to operate illegally in the park. He said he had engaged 40 miners and 10 supervisors after obtaining the necessary approvals and community consent.
He maintained that he was unaware that the licensed mining area extended into a restricted zone, adding that the authorities should properly demarcate protected areas to prevent conflicts with licensed operators.
The development has raised fresh concerns over illegal mining, environmental degradation and possible regulatory lapses in the issuance of mining licences, with stakeholders calling for proper verification of mining boundaries before approvals are granted.
