Ogun Mulls Law against Illegal Felling of Economic Trees

James Sowole in Abeokuta

Ogun State Government is set to enact a law to ensure that illegal tree fellers and economic saboteurs operating in government forest reserves across the state are prosecuted, fined and imprisoned.

The state Governor, Dapo Abiodun, disclosed this during the Treasury board meeting on the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2022 budget held in Abeokuta.

Abiodun said his administration would commence an advocacy programme on radio and television that would enlighten the people on the consequences of their actions in the forest reserves.

According to him, “Illegal tree fellers must be made to realise the consequence of their actions in terms of the environmental impact.

“We need to look at the law that would provide stiffer penalties for those caught doing this, and I think we need to step up advocacy, a massive one and warnings that if you are caught cutting down economic trees, we will descend on you with the full wrath of the law.

“So I think that we will be stepping up on television and radio to criminalise this act, and let the people know that the consequences of this act is a particular term of imprisonment and fine or both.”

Abiodun, who also added that there was need to show those people caught illegally operating in or destroying the forest reserves on television, posited that airing them on television would gradually make others involved in the act understand the message.

“We need to make some people a scapegoat, and when we catch them, we show them on television that these are the people cutting down our trees…there are their sponsors. When you do that, the people will begin to understand our message,” the governor noted.

The state Commissioner for Forestry, Mr. Tunji Akinosi, decried the extent at which some people cut down exotic trees such as the Melina. because they want to plant cocoa or cocoyam in the forest reserves.

He expressed displeasure that efforts at sensitising the people against entering the forest reserves for illegal activities are proving abortive.

Akinosi, while explaining that some of the saboteurs, who enter the reserves late at night fully armed, don’t even understand that they are committing a crime against the state, noting that: “It is disheartening that the activities of the saboteurs are destroying efforts of the government.”