Charcoal producers attack mobile court judge, staff

Chairman of a Mobile Court on Environmental Abuse in the Bauchi State Ministry of Housing and Environment, and two other staff escaped being lynched by some charcoal producers in Zaranda village, Toro Local Government Area of the state, Daily Trust learnt. Two members of the court on the team on an the inspection visit to […]

Chairman of a Mobile Court on Environmental Abuse in the Bauchi State Ministry of Housing and Environment, and two other staff escaped being lynched by some charcoal producers in Zaranda village, Toro Local Government Area of the state, Daily Trust learnt.

Two members of the court on the team on an the inspection visit to the village were said to have been injured but that the chairman of the court escaped unhurt.

The team could not carry out their assignment following several threats by the attackers who later smashed the windscreens of the team’s vehicles, a source said.

Speaking on the incident, the state Commissioner of Housing and Environment, Alhaji Hamisu Mu’azu Shira, condemned the action, warning that government will not be intimidated by those who carried out the nefarious act.

Shira said already, security agents have launched a manhunt for those who carried out the attack, adding that all hands should be on deck to check abuse of the environment by some “self-centred people.”

He explained that the ministry has taken measures to bring an end to the anomaly, warning that perpetrators of illegal tree felling for charcoal making would be apprehended and made to face the wrath of the law.

He called on traditional rulers, religious and community leaders to join hands with the state government to save the future of the environment by encouraging tree planting and discouraging felling of trees.