,,,recovers 5 Trucks of solid minerals

By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

Thirteen suspected illegal miners operating in Kakafu village in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State have been arrested by the operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The arrest, according to the EFCC statement, was done in collaboration with the Kwara State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Federal Mines and Steel Development.

“The Suspects were arrested on Tuesday August 30, 2022 during a joint operation which followed a credible intelligence received by the EFCC over some suspected illegal miners operating in the area,” the statement explained, adding that
five trucks fully loaded with different brands of solid minerals were recovered from them.

The suspects are Buba Mohammed, Yusuf Umar, Surajo Shehu, Abubakar Abdullahi, Salisu Mohammed, Quadri Sulaiman and Nwafor Chinonso.

Others are Abdullahi Isa, Mustapha Mohammed, Buhari Hassan, Basiru Jafaru, Murtala Jafaru and Jafaru Abdullahi.

The statement added: “Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were not paying royalties to the Federal Government as required by law.

“The suspects will soon be charged to Court upon the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.”

Recall that the Ilorin Zonal Command of the EFCC and NSCDC, had on August 25, 2022 agreed to intensify efforts to tackle illegal mining in the State.