Choicenewsonline Your Choice Is Here
Hathia Ama Manu, a Tarkwa Circuit Court judge has sentenced two Nigerians to jail for 20 years each. The two Nigerians were caught engaging in illegal small-scale mining ‘galamsey’ activities. The two convicts Benjamin Obin and Ayodele Jackson were arrested at Bepoase in the Western Region. The two men who were sentenced pleaded guilty to the charges with the explanation that they were unemployed and hungry.
They told the court they started this just three weeks ago. They were hungry and unemployed and were only doing it for survival. Thus, they were convicted on their pleas. Juliana Dadzie, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) laid out the fact of the case that a complaint was made accusing the two by two officers of the Minerals Commission.
According to her, the two members of the Minerals Commission, Emmanuel Morrison, and Bismark Mansoh were going on a routine patrol at the Bepoase area. They spotted the two with fifteen others with two excavators and a washing plant. They were indulging in illegal small-scale mining (galamsey).
Upon seeing the two officers they all took to their heels. The officers were able to arrest the two Nigerians. Judge Hathia Ama Manu made it known that the reason for their entering into the business was unfortunate. But stated that “the country is at a point where our water bodies, especially those of us in the Western Region, have been destroyed due to illegal mining.” But they have no excuses for their actions. The court also made it clear that they will be deported back to Nigeria after finishing their prison sentences.
