The Niger State Police Command has arrested seven individuals for alleged involvement in illegal mining and vandalising government property at Gurara Waterfalls in Gurara Local Government Area.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday in Minna by the command’s spokesperson, SP Wasiu Abiodun.
Abiodun explained that the arrests were part of the command’s “continuous effort to protect and safeguard public property” across the state.
According to him, “On March 22, at about 5:00 p.m., based on a report of illegal mining and vandalism at Gurara Waterfalls, police operatives attached to Gawu-Babangida Division conducted a sting operation within the facility and arrested seven suspects.”
He noted that the suspects, aged between 27 and 40, hail from Tsauni area in Gwagwalada, Abuja, and Lambata in Niger State.
Items recovered from them include “two water pump engines, 14 carpets, six shovels, three diggers, two pipes and seven head pans,” the police spokesman said.
Abiodun added that the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Minna for further investigation.
He also revealed that “on March 17, at about 4:00 p.m., a similar raid was carried out in the same facility, and eight suspects were arrested,” with 13 shovels and six diggers recovered.
The command reaffirmed its determination to continue its operations, stating that “the fight against illegal mining and vandalism will be sustained.”
