By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Bauchi State Environmental Protection Agency (BASEPA), says it has confiscated and auctioned 3,290 bags of charcoal between Jan. and Sept. 2021.
Mr Ibrahim Kabir, Director General of the Agency, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Wednesday.
Kabir said the commodity was confiscated by the staff of the agency deployed across the state to guard against indiscriminate felling of trees.
He said that 20 persons had been arrested and prosecuted for the offence, stressing that the Agency would not hesitate to arrest, confiscate and prosecute culprits found to be involved in destroying forest resources in the state.
Kabir, who attributed the array of ecological problems affecting the state to deforestation, stressed the need for planting of trees instead of cutting them down.
He said that tree felling and other unfriendly environmental practices negatively affected the ecosystem and destroyed biodiversity.
The Agency, he said, also directed loggers using power saw (tree cutting machine) to register with it or face sanction.
“Owners of the power saw must obtain a liciense from the agency and they must seek for permission before cutting down trees.
“Some of the legitimate reasons for cutting down tree are when it was declared harzadous and it could cause accident to the environment, for construction purposes, road obstruction or natural fall,” he said.
