Kwara: EFCC arrests 80 illegal miners

• The suspects were arrested with truckloads of assorted minerals
• The suspects were arrested in the last 10 months in the state

No fewer than 80 suspected illegal miners have been apprehended in Kwara state, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said.

According to the Ilorin Zonal Command Office, the suspects were arrested in the last 10 months in the state.

The commander of the zonal office, Micheal Nzekwe, who disclosed this, said the suspects were arrested with truckloads of assorted minerals.

Nzekwe made the disclosure when the state Commissioner for Solid Minerals Development, Abdulquiwiy Olododo, paid him an official visit at the commission’s office in Ilorin.

Micheal disclosed that intelligence revealed the operation of illegal mining sites across the state and the efforts of the anti-graft agency in checking the menace, led to the arrest of 80 suspected illegal miners.

The zonal commander, who lamented the rate at which the resources of Kwara state were being plundered by artisans and illegal miners, argued that “if the resources are channelled through the right sources and put into good use, they will be enough to sustain the economy of the state and make it self-sustaining.”

He stated that all hands must be on deck for the fight against corruption, particularly illegal mining, to be successful.

Michael assured that the commission will spare no effort in ensuring the enforcement of all extant laws against illegal miners and corrupt individuals in the state.

“Kwara state is enormously endowed with mineral deposits and the resources available in the 16 local government areas of the state are enough to turn it to ‘a small London’ if properly harnessed,” he declared.

Earlier, the state commissioner had reiterated government’s support for the efforts of the EFCC in checking illegal mining activities in the state.

He disclosed that “The government of Mallam Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman, who is also the Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, is determined to declare a state of emergency in the mining sector with a view to ensuring that money realised from the sector is used for the development of the state.”

The commissioner, who passed a vote of confidence on the EFCC for its courage and doggedness in fighting illegal mining activities in the state, said that, “The governor is firmly in support of what the EFCC is doing, particularly its efforts in checking unauthorised mining activities and other economic crimes in the state.”