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The federal government has intensified its war against illegal mining, arresting two suspected illegal miners and dismantling an illegal mining camp during a coordinated crackdown in Osun State.
The suspects, Danladi Isa and Musa Kabiru, both in their twenties, were arrested at an illegal artisanal mining site in Ileki-Ijesa along the Ile-Ife/Ilesa Road, while several others fled into nearby bushes as security operatives stormed the camp.
Officials said the suspects are already assisting investigators with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the financiers and sponsors behind the illegal operation.
The operation was carried out by officials of the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development from Ogun, Oyo and Osun states in collaboration with security agencies, following credible intelligence on the activities of illegal miners in the area.
During the raid, the enforcement team dismantled the miners’ operational base, confiscated equipment used for the illegal activities, and sealed the site in accordance with the law.
Recovered items included two motorcycles, pumping machines, Lister generators, washing equipment, large hose pipes, gold-trapping carpets, cutlasses, and other mining implements.
The leader of the operation and South-West Zonal Mines Officer, Mr Ajibade Ganiyu, said the raid was part of the Federal Government’s sustained campaign to enforce the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, protect the environment, and safeguard the nation’s mineral resources.
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He said the ministry, under the leadership of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, would continue intelligence-led surveillance and enforcement operations across the South-West and other parts of the country to flush out illegal miners.
Also speaking, the Osun State Mines Officer, Mr Wasiu Adeboye, warned that sponsors and financiers of illegal mining would not escape justice, insisting that anyone involved in the illicit trade would face the full weight of the law.
Reacting to the operation, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, said the Tinubu administration had made the sanitisation of the mining sector a national priority through stronger enforcement, regulatory reforms, intelligence gathering, and community engagement.
According to him, the establishment of the Mining Marshals has strengthened the government’s enforcement drive, leading to the arrest of more than 300 illegal miners and the prosecution of over 150 suspects, including foreign nationals, while several illegal mining sites have been shut down nationwide.
Alake urged traditional rulers, community leaders, and residents of mining communities to support the government’s efforts by exposing illegal miners and refusing to shield them.
“Illegal mining destroys the environment, fuels insecurity, deprives the nation of legitimate revenue and undermines the livelihoods of law-abiding miners. The fight against this menace cannot be won by government alone,” he said.
He assured Nigerians that the crackdown would continue until illegal mining networks across the country are dismantled, declaring that there would be no safe haven for illegal miners or their sponsors.
