Two arrested as FG raids illegal mining site in Osun
The Federal Government has arrested two suspected illegal miners during a coordinated raid on an illegal mining site in Osun State, as it intensified its nationwide crackdown on illicit mining activities.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Lara Owoeye-Wise, the suspects are assisting investigators with information to help track down the sponsors of the illegal operation.
The operation was carried out by officials of the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development from its Ogun, Oyo and Osun state offices in collaboration with security agencies. Acting on intelligence, the enforcement team stormed the site, while several suspects fled into nearby bushes. The team dismantled the illegal mining camp, sealed off the site and confiscated equipment used for the operation.
The suspects, identified as Danladi Isa and Musa Kabiru, both in their twenties, were arrested at an illegal artisanal mining camp in Ileki-Ijesa along the Ile-Ife/Ilesa Road. Items recovered included two motorcycles, pumping machines, Lister generators, washing equipment, large hose pipes, gold-trapping carpets, cutlasses and other mining implements.
The Southwest Zonal Mines Officer, Mr. Ajibade Ganiyu, who led the operation, said the raid formed part of the Federal Government’s efforts to enforce the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, protect the environment, safeguard lives and preserve the nation’s mineral resources. He added that the ministry would sustain surveillance and enforcement operations to eliminate illegal mining.
Reacting, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, said the Tinubu administration had made sanitising the mining sector a national priority through stronger enforcement, regulatory reforms, intelligence gathering and community engagement. He noted that the Mining Marshals had helped secure the arrest of more than 300 illegal miners and the prosecution of over 150 suspects, including foreign nationals.
“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. Communities must become active partners in protecting their mineral resources,” Alake said.
The minister urged traditional rulers, community leaders and residents of mining communities to support the fight against illegal mining by providing credible information to security agencies. He assured Nigerians that the ministry would sustain intelligence-led operations across mining corridors to dismantle illegal mining networks and bring offenders to justice.
