The decomposing body of an All Progressives Congress youth leader in Ebonyi State, Ogochukwu Elem, has been pulled from a mining pit in the state.
The remains of two policemen travelling with the late Elem were also retrieved from the scene on Monday, August 16, 2021, two days after the vehicle conveying the victims plunged into the pit.
Elem and the other occupants were on their way to Ikwo for a function when the car lost control and plunged into the pit off the Abakaliki-Ikwo Road at the Enyigba community axis of the road in the Abakaliki Local Government Area of the state on Saturday evening.
They were pulled out by rescue officials and local divers supported with a crane provided by the Ebonyi State Ministry of Infrastructure during an exercise supervised by Governor David Umahi.
While addressing reporters at the scene where the bodies were recovered, Governor Umahi mourned the victims and condemned the activities of miners in the state.
He decried the indiscriminate digging of mining pits which he said was endangering the lives of the people and causing destruction to the environment.
“We learned of the unfortunate incident of an accident on this road on Saturday. The accident is still a mystery to all of us as that was the APC state youth leader with two policemen that were going for a function and the accident happened,” Umahi said.
“We do not know the cause of the accident; we do not know what happened, but it is quite very mysterious that even the wedges of the sand could not stop them, and the car plunged into a mining pit that was dug over 20 years ago and not closed.
“It is very unfortunate, and we have been fighting this issue of digging pits, harvesting led, zinc and even chippings without closing it back.
“We are going to identify all the pits in Ebonyi state, whether it was dug for led, zinc, chippings or any other mineral in the state. We have to identify who did it and the closing of these pits must commence latest by next week Monday.”
