2 Arrested For Illegal Mining Near Adansi Asokwa Agenda 111 Hospital Site

Jul 22, 2026 - 08:02

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2 Arrested For Illegal Mining Near Adansi Asokwa Agenda 111 Hospital Site

National Security operatives have arrested two people, including the owner of an illegal mining site located close to the Agenda 111 Hospital project at Adansi Asokwa in the Ashanti Region.

The site owner, Yussif Ibrahim, was arrested after one of his employees, who was picked up during an operation, identified him as his employer.

The arrest follows efforts by the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) to reclaim land degraded by illegal miners operating less than five metres behind the walls of the Adansi Asokwa Agenda 111 Hospital.

REGSEC moved in after reports of the mining activities emerged in the media in the first week of July. National Security operatives, acting on the directive of the council, have since supervised the reclamation of the mined-out pits, which cover an area estimated to be the size of about 30 standard football fields.

Officials say the reclamation process has restored more than 80 per cent of the degraded land. However, despite the presence of security personnel, some illegal miners were still found operating at the site.

The situation led to the arrest of one person, who later assisted operatives in locating and arresting his alleged boss.

Deputy Regional Security Coordinator, Alhaji Abdellah Umar, said investigations into the activities of the group have commenced as the two suspects are being questioned.

He defended the security operation, stressing the need to protect the Agenda 111 project site from further degradation.

“We know it is very close to Agenda 111, and when we came, we still saw that the reclamation was going on; we’ve still seen some around. It means when we are not careful, in the next few days or week, we will realise on the premises of the agenda 111 itself,” he said.

Alhaji Umar assured that security agencies would continue efforts to reclaim lands destroyed by illegal mining activities.

“The land we are standing on now is to be given a second chance, because some few weerealise it was heavily degradedagendalegal miners… As you can attest with me, whilst we are here, we’ve just picked some of the workers, or some of the boys who are still around trying to work on the land, to the RCC,” he added.

Meanwhile, REGSEC is partnering with thepartnerig with the Logesist EcoReclaim Initiative and Agricentric Ventures to fully restore the degraded land.

Officials say the reclaimed area will eventually be put to economic use through a public-private partnership.

Chief Executive Officer of Agricentric Ventures, Gideon Nyameson, explained that the organisation will use microbial ecological research to restore the soil.

“Our involvement in this exercise is to conduct what is called microbial ecological research, where we use bacteria inoculants to break down or make the chemicals in the soil lose theirir bioavailability,” he said.

He added that the initiative will include a social inclusivity programme involving members of surrounding communities in cultivating oil-yielding plants after the reclamation process.

Group General Manager of Logesist EcoReclaim Initiative, Benjamin Karikari Dwira, who led a team to assess the site, said his organisation is partnering with with Agricentric Ventures, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) to restore the fertility of the degraded land.