Seventeen suspected illegal miners have been arrested inside the Cross River National Park following a crackdown on mining activities in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State.
The arrests were carried out by the park’s Special Anti-Poaching Squad after intelligence reportedly identified mining operations in Ekuri Eyenyen and Etara communities. Conservator of Parks, CP Joseph Ntui Assam, confirmed the arrests and said authorities were acting to protect the reserve.
Assam warned that mining, hunting, logging, farm encroachment and the poisoning of water sources are prohibited within the National Park. He said such activities threaten the environment and create security and public health risks for surrounding communities.
The conservator said illegal mining has contributed to the degradation of land and the pollution of streams and farmlands around Ekuri Eyenyen and Etara. He added that the damage has reduced residents’ access to safe drinking water.
The crackdown has also exposed concerns over mining licences allegedly overlapping with protected areas. Assam questioned how licences issued by the Mining Cadastre Office in Abuja and the Federal Mines Office in Calabar could cover areas reserved under the National Park.
At the centre of the dispute is B4Live Integrated Services, a company registered by Ekpo Mbang Eno and linked to mining activities in the area. Cross River Commissioner for Mineral Resources, Effiom-Ekaha Otu, confirmed that the company had a federal mining licence but said the licence may have overlapped with a protected zone.
The Federal Mines Office confirmed that B4Live had been granted a small-scale mining lease covering two cadastral units in Ekuri. Federal Mines Officer in Cross River, Engr Ayelabola Olubunmi, acknowledged that overlaps between mining licences and protected areas can occur and said the National Park had previously raised concerns about such cases.
Eno denied employing the arrested miners to operate illegally inside the park. He said he had engaged 40 miners and 10 supervisors after obtaining approvals and community consent, but claimed he was unaware that the licensed area extended into a restricted zone. The dispute has renewed calls for clearer mining boundaries and stronger checks before licences are issued in environmentally protected areas.
