The Mining Marshals working below the Ministry of Stable Minerals Improvement have shut down an unlawful mining operation within the Rafin-Gabas group of Kokona Native Authorities Space, Nasarawa State, arresting three overseas nationals within the course of.
The Minister of Stable Minerals Improvement, Dr. Dele Alake, confirmed the operation in a press release issued Thursday in Abuja by his Particular Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori.
Alake described the event as a significant breakthrough within the federal authorities’s ongoing clampdown on unlawful mining and a decisive step towards sanitising the stable minerals sector.
He famous that the positioning had lengthy operated exterior the regulation, reportedly shielded by compromised safety operatives.
“Following a strategic and well-coordinated operation, the Mining Marshals penetrated the stronghold, resulting in the arrest of three overseas nationals. A number of different suspects managed to flee, allegedly with the assistance of some safety personnel,” the minister stated.
The minister praised the Mining Marshals for his or her professionalism and dedication, reiterating the federal authorities’s resolve to stamp out unlawful mining and produce perpetrators to justice.
Commander of the Mining Marshals, John Onoja, confirmed {that a} manhunt was ongoing for the fugitives. He added that investigations have been underway to determine safety operatives who might have facilitated the unlawful operations.
In line with Onoja, the corporate behind the unlawful mining actions, in addition to among the fleeing suspects, are already going through prison fees on the Federal Excessive Court docket in Abuja.
The Mining Marshals, drawn from the Nigeria Safety and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), have been deployed in 2024 and skilled in tactical operations to fight unlawful mining, banditry, and different safety threats within the sector.
Nairametrics reported that since their deployment, 327 suspects have been arrested and 143 prosecuted for unlawful mining throughout Nigeria, based on knowledge from the Ministry of Stable Minerals Improvement.
Alake shared the info at a information convention celebrating the one-year anniversary of the operations of the Mining Marshals.
He said that the Marshals’ key goal for 2025 is to safe the conviction of the 327 people already arraigned in courtroom, as that may function a deterrent to unlawful miners, and assist the ministry enhance compliance with the regulation.
The Mining Marshals have been inaugurated on March 21, 2024, to function a safety outfit monitoring unlawful mining within the stable minerals sector.
