By Femi Bolaji

The Taraba State Special Taskforce on Illegal Mining and Environmental Protection has sounded the alarm over an influx of large-scale charcoal merchants from neighboring states and the Federal Capital Territory, who are felling economic trees across the state for charcoal production.

The taskforce warned that this unchecked deforestation threatens the state’s environmental health and exacerbates climate change.

Speaking in Jalingo on Wednesday, Taskforce Chairman Brig. Gen. Jeremiah Faransa (rtd) shared the taskforce’s concerns, stating, “We had to take action by confiscating trucks transporting charcoal out of the state. Our investigations reveal that valuable economic trees are now being cut down for this purpose.”

He emphasized that while the state does not oppose the local use of charcoal, the indiscriminate felling of trees for external profit will not be tolerated. “We can’t stand by as charcoal merchants from Abuja jeopardize our environment. Charcoal production must not come at the cost of our ecosystem,” Faransa stressed.