The Federal Government has intensified its nationwide crackdown on illegal mining with the arrest of two suspected illegal miners and the dismantling of an illegal mining camp in Osun State.
The suspects, identified as Danladi Isa and Musa Kabiru, were arrested during a coordinated enforcement operation at Ileki-Ijesa along the Ile-Ife/Ilesa Road by officials of the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and security agencies.
A statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mrs. Lara Owoeye-Wise, in Abuja, says the operation followed credible intelligence on the activities of illegal artisanal miners in the area.
The statement states that although several suspects fled into nearby bushes on sighting the enforcement team, two persons were apprehended and are assisting investigators with information aimed at identifying and arresting the sponsors of the illegal operation.
According to the statement, the enforcement team also confiscated several mining equipment and dismantled operational bases established by the illegal miners.
“Items recovered include two motorcycles, pumping machines, Lister generators, washing equipment, large hose pipes, gold-trapping carpets, cutlasses and other mining implements” Mrs Owoeye-Wise adds.
According to the statement, the Southwest Zonal Mines Officer, Mr. Ajibade Ganiyu, says the exercise forms part of the Federal Government’s sustained efforts to enforce compliance with mining regulations, protect the environment and safeguard the nation’s mineral resources.
The statement adds that the Osun State Mines Officer, Mr. Wasiu Adeboye, also warns that sponsors and financiers of illegal mining activities would continue to face the full weight of the law.
The statement explains that the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, while reacting to the development, stresses that the Tinubu administration had made the sanitisation of the mining sector a national priority through stronger enforcement, regulatory reforms, intelligence gathering and community engagement.
According to the Minister, the establishment of the Mining Marshals has strengthened government enforcement capacity, leading to the arrest of more than 300 illegal miners and the prosecution of over 150 suspects, including foreign nationals, while several illegal mining sites have been shut down nationwide.
It adds that Alake appeals to traditional rulers, community leaders and residents of mining communities to support government efforts by providing credible information and refusing to harbour illegal miners.
It states that the Minister assures Nigerians that intelligence-led operations would continue across mining corridors nationwide, reiterating that there would be no safe haven for illegal miners and their sponsors as government moves to reposition the solid minerals sector as a major driver of economic growth.
