NSCDC Apprehends Suspected Illegal Miners

By Rasheedah Makinde

Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, Oyo State command has apprehended ten suspected illegal miners in Ido town, Ido local government area of the state.

The suspects were arrested with six hundred tonnes of Feldspars Mineral Resources worth over ten million Naira.

The ten suspected illegal miners are Adewale Akinkunmi, Justine Egejuru, Gbadamosi Abeeb, Mustapha Alao and Ayuba Abdulrahaman.

Others include Hammed Abass, Bolarinwa Hassan, Jimoh Kudus, Sanni Ayuba and Usman Umar.

Parading the suspects at the NSCDC office, Iyaganku, the Corps Commandant, Mr Augustine Padonu said they were apprehended for illegally exploring and mining solid mineral to be Feldspars mineral resources without license and royalty payment receipt to the federal Government.

Mr Padonu said the arrest became imperative as the act was part of economic saboteur that has been affecting the national development of the country.

He reiterated that the Federal Government had declared a zero tolerance for illegal mining.

He said the mineral resources were conveyed in three intercepted trucks with the intent to deliver it at a company at Igbesa in Ogun State.

Mr Padonu, thereby, called on members of the public to be vigilant and more security conscious as well as providing useful information to NSCDC and other security agencies to collectively fight against any crime and criminality in the state.

The NSCDC boss added that the suspects would soon be charge to court after conclusion of their ongoing discreet investigation.

One of the suspects, who claimed to be the site manager, Adewale Akinkunmi, said it was a shock to him when they were accosted by security operatives that the company had not been paying the appropriate royalty to the Government.

He explained that since he had started working with the company, he believed that they had perfected all the paperwork, as well as, paying for the necessary resources.

Reacting, the Zonal mines officer on solid mineral in the Southwest, Engineer Gbenga Ajayi said illegal mining was one the factors that has been hindering the development of the sector and the country at large.

He said anyone who wishes to venture into mining should go through proper channels in order not to be a victim of law.

Mr Ajayi noted that illegal mining has been on the increase in Nigeria and has been causing the sector lots of money, hence the need for a proper monitoring from all the concern stakeholders to put a stop to the menace.

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