NAIMOS used dogs, cocked guns to evict workers – Northern Ashanti Mines

The Director and shareholder of Northern Ashanti Mines, Fredrick Okine, has criticised the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) over an operation to remove workers from the company’s mining concession at Konongo, describing the exercise as an aggressive takeover.

Mr Okine alleged that personnel involved in the operation arrived at the mining site on Thursday, October 22, with dogs and cocked guns and gave approximately 400 workers just two and a half hours to leave the concession.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, October 27, he confirmed that NAIMOS was responsible for the operation when asked by host Bernard Avle.

“Not only was it a Rambo-style takeover, they came in with cocked guns, kicking dogs, asking us to move out within two and a half hours,” Mr Okine said.

Mr Okine further alleged that military personnel had been stationed around the mine during the operation, raising concerns among management about the potential for confrontation.

He said the company’s management urged workers not to resist the personnel to prevent the situation from escalating and to avoid possible bloodshed.

“Their appearance was as if they had been given an order to shoot anybody who obstructed,” he alleged.

The comments reflect the company director’s account of the operation. Further details about the conduct of the personnel involved and NAIMOS’s response to the allegations were not included in the information available.

The operation at the Konongo concession follows the termination of Northern Ashanti Mines’ mining lease over alleged breaches that the company was reportedly given an opportunity to remedy.

The lease termination has prompted a legal challenge by the company, which is contesting the decision through the courts.

Northern Ashanti Mines has filed an application for an injunction seeking to restrain the state from taking over the concession while its judicial review application challenging the termination of the lease is being determined.

The injunction application seeks to preserve the position of the parties pending the court’s consideration of the substantive legal challenge.

The outcome of the proceedings could determine the next steps concerning the lease and control of the mining concession.

The dispute places the government’s action concerning the mining lease and the company’s challenge to its termination at the centre of an ongoing legal process.

While Mr Okine has raised concerns about the manner in which workers were removed from the site, the company is also seeking judicial review of the decision to terminate its lease.

Further clarification from NAIMOS and the relevant authorities would help establish their account of the operation and the circumstances surrounding the removal of workers.