In the Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State, in Northcentral Nigeria, the police have detained eight alleged illegal miners and seized three trailer loads of marble stones.
Okasanmi Ajayi, the state’s police public relations officer, revealed this in a statement on Thursday, stating that the suspects were apprehended on October 30 in the Share, Tsaragi, and Patigi districts of the state.
According to him, the arrest was made possible as a result of a petition and a letter sent to Paul Odama, the state’s commissioner of police.
The Association of Licenced Miners of Kwara State and people of Patigi Local Government Area reportedly complained that illegal miners had turned their ancestral lands into a hotbed of illegal mineral resource extraction.
Ajayi pointed out that the scenario had led to environmental issues and economic sabotage for both the state and the federal government.
“Based on this petition, a team of Kwara State Police Command’s operatives was dispatched to the area to arrest and if possible, recover and impound any illegally mined minerals in the said area,” the statement read in part.
“The police team swung into action and on 30/10/2022 at about 02:00hrs the suspects named hereunder were arrested with three trailer loads of suspected marbles illegally mined.”
The suspects are Mohammed Abdulbagi, Alhassan Rabiu, Mohammed Zanihat Idris, Mohammed Abdulbagi, Mohammed Dalhatu Idris, and Abubakar Tasiu.
The PPRO noted that the seized evidence had been delivered to the state police headquarters and that the suspects had been charged in court following questioning and confessions.
He also said that any acts aimed at sabotaging the economy or endangering the lives, property, or health of state residents would be met with resistance.
The police spokesman urged Kwara State citizens to work with them to purge the state of any criminal activity.
In South Africa, the police are investigating the discovery of at least 21 dead at an operational mine in Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, thought to be illegal miners.
Police say 19 bodies were discovered Wednesday afternoon, with two more discovered Thursday morning. The victims, according to the police, were transferred to the location where they were discovered, which is a privately owned mine.