BENIN CITY — Suspected illegal loggers have invaded a protected forest belonging to the Benin monarch, desecrating the revered Ovia ancestral shrine and felling several timber trees in Iyowa Village, Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State.
The suspects were apprehended on Tuesday, following a covert surveillance operation by youths mobilised by the Okaighele (youth leader) of the community, Ambassador Etionsa Ighodaro.
The arrest came a day after the loggers allegedly carried out the initial incursion into the forest on Monday, April 20.
The forest, regarded as sacred and held in trust for the Benin monarch, Oba Ewuare II, houses the ancient Ovia shrine, where entry is traditionally restricted.
Narrating the incident, Ighodaro said the loggers, led by one Reuben Omoiyekemwen Owie, stormed the forest with motorised saws, felled multiple trees, processed them into logs and transported some to a sawmill.
He added that the group returned the following day to continue the operation before they were intercepted.
“We were shocked that a group of people could brazenly enter the Oba’s sacred forest and begin felling trees. This is not only illegal but a desecration of our ancestral shrine,” Ighodaro said.
He disclosed that the suspects were arrested with their equipment, including motor saws and a haulage truck, all of which have been impounded.
The arrested individuals and the seized equipment have since been taken to the Oba’s palace by the community’s Chief Priest, Henry Imadiyi, to formally report the incident.
Ighodaro linked the development to a protracted leadership crisis in Iyowa community, which he alleged dates back to 2014 and involves Reuben Owie and his associates.
According to him, the crisis has been marked by violence, intimidation, arrests and prolonged litigation across courts in Benin City and Abuja.
He noted that relative peace had only recently returned following a High Court sitting in Okada, which affirmed him as the substantive Okaighele of Iyowa, recognised Henry Imadiyi as the Oyunkpo (Chief Priest), and upheld Pa S. A. Igbinawahia as Acting Head of Administration, with Festus Igbinawahia as a member.
However, Ighodaro accused Festus Igbinawahia of allegedly collaborating with others to reignite tensions in the community, claiming he was instrumental in the illegal logging and desecration of the sacred forest.
In separate interviews, some of the arrested workers denied knowledge of the alleged illegality of the operation.
A motor saw operator, Usman Momoh, said he was directed by his employer based in Benin City to meet a local contact in Iyowa, who led him and other workers into the forest for the logging exercise.
“I don’t know anything about the arrangement. I was only asked to come and work,” he said, adding that they had already cut eight tree stumps into about 20 logs, some of which had been transported to a sawmill before their arrest. He identified the trees as corkwood, also known as white wood.
Similarly, the haulage truck driver, Ademola Adebiyi, said he was acting on the instructions of his employer, identified simply as Oduwa, whom he described as the contractor handling the operation.
Adebiyi disclosed that some of the logs had already been conveyed to a sawmill located in nearby Ogueka Village within the Iyowa axis. He maintained that he was unaware of any illegality surrounding the job, stressing that he was merely carrying out assigned duties.
Further findings indicated that the operation may have been backed by some yet-to-be-identified natives of Iyowa. Sources also alleged that there were covert plans by the masterminds to sell portions of the forest, although this claim could not be independently verified.
As at the time of filing this report on Thursday, efforts to reach individuals mentioned in connection with the alleged invasion were unsuccessful.
