The Nasarawa State Police Command, on Tuesday, paraded 109 individuals suspected of engaging in illegal mining activities within the Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area of the state.
The Nasarawa State Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Yakubu Kwanta, who observed the presentation of the suspects, praised the police for their achievement and urged illegal miners to cease their activities.
Kwanta urged illegal miners in the state to organize themselves into a cooperative society and undergo proper registration to conduct their business legally.
The Commissioner of Police, Umar Nadada, disclosed that the suspects were apprehended through meticulous efforts by officers of the Anti-kidnapping Unit of the command, working in conjunction with vigilantes in the Nasarawa Eggon LGA.
He elaborated that the operation commenced from Mada station to Wakama community, targeting the Alogani mountain area, a known hideout for kidnappers awaiting ransom payments.
Nadada further detailed that the 109 suspects were arrested at various locations on the mountain while engaging in illegal mining of solid minerals such as Topaz, Tin, and Aquamarine. Additionally, a Dane gun, cutlasses, knives, and illegally mined solid minerals were recovered from the suspects as evidence.
He said, “Yesterday, February 19, 2024, at about 6 am, the anti-kidnapping unit of the command in collaboration with vigilance groups from the Nasarawa Eggon LGA engaged in a massive raid of some criminal hideouts at Alogani Hills in the Nasarawa Eggon LGA.
“They raided from Mada station to Wakama area with a view to arresting suspected kidnappers. Unfortunately, some of them ran away but we were able to arrest some illegal miners, about 109 of them who are here.
“We immediately took them into custody and we have commenced investigations. We are ready to partner with the state government with a view to ensuring that these illegal miners are profiled and then further necessary actions will follow.”
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Kwanta, said, “We commend the Nasarawa State Command of the Nigeria Police Force under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police for this diligent operation that has apprehended these illegal artisanal miners in their hundreds. This can only be achieved with the benefit of hindsight backed by strong local experience.
“Let me, on behalf of His Excellency, the Executive Governor, thank you for this feat. On this note, I strongly put to them (suspected illegal miners) as anorder and a last chance to repent from their
illegal operation and form cooperative groups and get registered with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment as a first step followed by a further registration and profiling by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources for the purposes of documentation and identification of their operational status for peace and security. This they must do with the urgency it deserves before returning to their mining sites.
“This is a kind gesture in the posture of the current administration to allow for private business development and economic empowerment for poverty reduction, but this should not be a licence for illegality.”
Meanwhile, Senator Ekong Sampson, who represents Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, has voiced concern over the role of illegal mining activities in exacerbating security challenges nationwide.
Sampson, who serves as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, expressed regret that Nigerians were colluding with foreigners to exploit the nation’s mining resources unlawfully.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Mr. Samuel Udoma, on Tuesday, the senator pledged to enhance investigations within the sector for the benefit of the nation.
“We will continue to intensify efforts aimed at reviewing and streamlining mining activities in order to reposition the solid minerals sector,” he said.
Through resolutions made during plenary sessions late last year, the Senate tasked the Solid Minerals Committee with investigating the root causes of the declining revenue generated from solid minerals in the country.
The committee was also instructed to determine the scope and consequences of illegal mining activities, as well as the involvement of both local and foreign industry participants.