I Haven't Fired Gun Shots To Kill Small-Scale Miners -Okobeng Mining CEO Set The Records Straight

THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE Officer of Okobeng Mining Company, Nana Okobeng Amponsah, has debunked the current wide spread media reports which goes viral on the social and traditional media platforms to the effect that he has fired gun shots at two key small scale miners at the illegal gold site at Gwira-Ampasie in the Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira Municipality of the Western Region.

But Nana Okobeng Amponsah was quick to admit that he has fired gun warning shots in the air when he together with Nana Adu visited the site of the miners at Gwira-Ampasie when the illegal miners were petting stones at him together with Nana Adu in their efforts to prevent them from their illegal mining activities which has been polluting River Akonbra and other water bodies.

He stated that he has legally secured a 31.5 kilometers square gold mining concession at Dominase in the Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira Municipality of the Western Region but the recent allegations leveled against him that he he fired gun shots to kill these two miners were completely untrue and unfounded.

He explained that the case is currently on the trial in the law court in Half Assini (Halfassini).

He expressed shock that the two miners who have accused him have since not showed up in the court for the four conservative sittings but they are still making noises in the media.

He said their paymasters have used the media practitioners and houses to publish series of bad stories to tarnish his hard won reputation with the aim at scoring their political points.

Nana Okobeng Amponsah told journalists that the killing story was ostensibly cooked by the two miners with the advise from their paymasters to soil his personal reputation.

He noted that he has become a prime target of attack by thousands of illegal small scale miners, popularly known as the galamseyers who are indiscriminately mining gold resources from the communities such as Bamiankor, Ayinase, Gwira-Ampasie, Akango, Dualle and Akosono in the Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira Municipality.

"Since l secured my concession and got the necessary legal licenses and permits from the state mining regulatory institutions including Mineral Commission and Environmental Protection Agency, l am using the legal means to protect my gold mining concession from being invaded by the illegal small scale miners. When l noticed that anyone invaded my concession, l reported that person to the police to be arrested and processed before the law court. And that a lot of people who are illegal small scale miners in these communities hated me," the seasoned legal miner explained.

According to Nana Okobeng Amponsah, his recent woes were orchestrated by a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) in the Western Region (name withheld) who are in the league with the senior police officer in Takoradi to influence these two key small scale miners to accuse him of shooting gun to kill them in galamsey site.

Nana Okobeng Amponsah pointed out that there are clear evidence from the record in the hospital being attended by the two small scale miners that there are no gun bullets in their wounds.

"To push their devil agenda further such faceless MP and a senior police officer at Takoradi have taken the two miners to the
Sekondi District Police Command to secretly secure the police hospital forms for the two to be taking to the hospital to claim that they had sustained the gun fire wounds while there are clear evidence that the two were being hurt by bamboo stick when they are working at the illegal small scale mining site at Gwira-Ampasie.

He stated that when the two sent the police forms to the hospital he has been informed that the consulted medical doctor told them that they should re-send the police hospital forms to their area of jurisdiction for the doctor there to sign the forms for them.

"However when the two brought their police hospital forms to their area of jurisdiction, l [Nana Okobeng Amponsah] was informed that the consulting doctor told the two in clear term that he was aware of what are happenings in the previous hospital they had attended in the connection of their matter and that there are no ways that they would bring the police forms to the lower hospital for him to sign for the two," Nana Okobeng Amponsah revealed.

Following this development, he noted that those two top personalities who are in league with the two miners have gone to look for the another medical doctor in Takoradi and forced him to sign the police hospital forms for the two and wrongly stated in the forms that it is true that the two were shot by the gun.

"It has showed clear that the levels at which this case has travelled attest to the fact that there no iota of true in the case leveled against me," Nana Okobeng Amponsah explained.

He dared that whoever may doubts what he was lying to the public should investigate the matter from the various police commanders including the police investigator at the Dominase Police station to unravel the truth of the matter.

He stressed that he was speaking the true and that he cannot lied to Ghanaians since he is a loyal and law abiding citizen of Ghana.

Articulating on the genesis of what has led to firing of the the gun warning into the air, Nana Okobeng Amponsah noted that for the past months ago, when he went to his concession and fortunately he met the chief of Ampasie.

According to him, "he asked the chief that he was told that the chiefs in these communities were informed that if they had seen that the boats were in their areas are working on river Akonbra to coverge the galamseyers to their illegal sites they would come to arrest them."

He pointed out that he told the chief that when l am talking to you, the boats operators are still working on the river for which l heard the noises of the machines of the boats.

Nana Okobeng Amponsah indicated that the chief has responded that they had said it several times to stop the boat operators to work on the water bodies but they realized that the place is a boundary between Gwira-Ampasie and Akango.

In the sense, Nana Okobeng Amponsah noted that he invited one chief in the area called Nana Adu to accompany him to go to the area that the boat operators are working on the river..

He pointed out that they used the speed boat to drive to the scene and upon reaching the scene, they realized that the activities of the illegal small scale miners in the area was very terrible.

As a result of this, he asserted that when they gone to the scene the moment the galamseyers saw them, they started petting stone at them.

He indicated that looking at the high levels at which the miners were petting the stone at them, he managed to fire gun warning shots into the thin air, ostensibly to scare them from throwing the stones at them.

He stated that after he fired the gun warning shots, he realized that the illegal miners are still throwing more stones at them.

He narrated that Nana Adu has asked him that they should leave the place since the miners were still indiscriminately throwing the stones at them.

According to him, they left the place and that when he reached home in the evening, he had telephone call from one of the police officers from the Dominase Police Station indicating that some one came to lodge an complain against "me that l came to fire gun shot at the mining site at Gwira-Ampasie and that they were hinted by the gun bullets."

He indicated that the police officer invited "me to report to the Dominase Police Station the following day.

He said when he reported to the station, he wrote his statement about what had happened when he went to the illegal mining site at Gwira-Ampasie.

He added that Nana Adu was also invited to the Dominase Police Station to write his statement.

He pointed out that the police officers told me that l should get some one to administer the bail for me.

He said he was granted the bail and they left there, adding that the following day, he was at home when the Axim District Police Commander called him via telephone and told that the Western Regional Police Commander said they should invited him to the Sekondi

He said he drove his car to the Senkodi and that when he reached the Senkodi, the police officers asked him that they had information that he has fired gun at the galamsey site which wouded some miners.

He said he responded that it is true that he fired gun shot but he didn't fired gun at anybody.

According to him, after he left the Senkodi District Police Command, the police officers at Axim also invited him to come to the station.

He indicated that the police officers at Axim also asked him that they had information that he has fired gun shot at galamsey site and that where is his gun.

According to Nana Okobeng Amponsah, he showed his licensed gun to the police officers and tendered all the necessary documentary papers covered the gun.

He noted that when he finished at the Axim District Police Command, the police officers told him that they would they are going to  invite him anytime they needed him.

Later when he got home, he stated that the police officer at Axim has called to inform him that the Western Regional Police Commander directed that they should processed him before the court.

He pointed out that he told the police officers he was ever ready to appear before the court and that anytime they wanted him to appear he would come.

He noted that he travelled for sometimes ago and that when he returned he was told that the police officer came to leave some note on his back.

According to Nana Okobeng Amponsah, he and his lawyer have turned up at court in Halfassini for about four conservative times.

He stated that the complainers who are making the noises had turned up in the court before.

He said the situation which has informed the decision of the presiding judge to ask the police investigator in the case that where are the complainers.?

He stated that the CID officers told the judge that they had not seen them in court.

"Today as l am talking l don't know where are these complainers of the case. Last week that we have to the court and that when l am preparing to go to the court l was informed that the presiding judge went on leave. I called the police investigator via telephone and asked him about the case, and the police responded to me that his regional police Commander has recalled the docket to the Senkodi. And that the commander has not given the court docket to them. And that they don't even know whether we are going to court or not.Sunce this time l didn't heard anything about the case again," Nana Okobeng Amponsah explained.

Against this backdrop, he called on the general public to disregard the media reports, saying that it is a calculated attempt to destroy his reputation.