By our staff correspondent
At least eight suspected illegal miners have been arrested by the Kwara state police command for illegal mining activities in the state.
Three marble loaded trailers were also recovered by operatives of the state police command.
According to the state spokesman of the police command, Okasanmi Ajayi in Ilorin on Thursday, the command acted on a petition and a letter written to the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State, Paul Odama, by the residents and natives of Patigi in Patigi Local government area of Kwara State and the Association of Licenced Miners of Kwara State to the effect that illegal miners have turned their ancestral lands to a beehive of illegal mining of the mineral resources thereby causing ecological problem and sabotage to the economy of both the state and the federal government.
He said based on the petition, a team of Kwara State Police Command’s operatives were dispatched to the area to arrest and if possible recover and impound any illegally mined minerals in the said area.
“The police team swung into action and on 30/10/2022 at about 0200hrs the suspects named hereunder were arrested with three trailer loads of suspected marbles illegally mined.
The suspects, he revealed are Abdulbagi Sadiq ‘m’ aged 28yrs with a Trailer with registration number SGM 222 ZR, Isah Amisu ‘m’ aged 28yrs with a Trailer with registration number GBE 347ZE, Mohammed Zanihat Idris aged 27yrs ‘m’ with a Trailer with registration number BWR 151 YL, Alhassan Rabiu ‘m’, Mohammed Abdulbagi ‘m’, Ibrahim Sule Balarabe ‘m’ Mohammed Dalhatu Idris and Abubakar Tasiu.
They were arrested along Share, Tsaragi and Patigi areas of the state, he added.
Exhibits have been recovered and transported to the state police headquarters, while the suspects after interrogation and confessions have been charged to court.
The command is stated that economic sabotage and any acts inimical to the health and security of lives and property of the citizens and people of the state would be resisted.
The CP also advised the good people of Kwara state to join hands with the police to rid the state of all criminality.
