Kwara PPRO, Ajayi Okasanmi |
According to the Kwara police command, they detained eight alleged illegal miners and found three trailer loads of marble stones in the Patigi local government area.
This was revealed in a statement released on Thursday in Ilorin by command spokesperson Okasanmi Ajayi.
The offenders were allegedly apprehended on Sunday in the Share, Tsaragi, and Patigi regions, according to the police. It claimed that a petition and letter addressed to the state's chief of police, Paul Odama, made the arrest feasible.
The Patigi local government area people and the Association of Licensed Miners of Kwara State reportedly claimed that illegal miners had turned their lands into a hive of unlawful mining of mineral resources.
The situation, according to the police, has led to ecological issues and economic sabotage.
“The police team swung into action and on Oct.10 at about 02:00hrs, the suspects were arrested with three trailer loads of suspected marbles illegally mined,” stated the police.
The statement added, “The suspects are Abdulbagi Sadiq, Isah Amisu, Mohammed Idris, Alhassan Rabiu, Mohammed Abdulbagi, Ibrahim Balarabe, Mohammed Idris and Abubakar Tasiu. Exhibits have been recovered to the police headquarters, while the suspects, after interrogation and confessions, have been charged to court.”
(NAN)