EFCC arrests 7 over alleged illegal mining activities in Kwara

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested seven persons over alleged illegal mining in Kwara State.

The EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said two other suspects, Waheed and Noah Olalekan, were arrested for allegedly offering N1.2 million bribe to compromise the commission’s operatives.

Oyewale said: “The arrest which followed credible intelligence and days of surveillance, was carried out on Friday, May 24, at Ogbomosho, Oyo State.

“The suspects are – Waliyu Abidoye, Abubakar Auwal, Abdulrauf Hakim, Sabiu Usman, Salihu Godwin, Dauda Mohammed and Olalekan Aremu.

”At the point of arrest, five truckloads of assorted minerals suspected to be lepidolite, lithium, and precious stone among others were recovered from the suspects.

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According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were not licensed miners and did not have the requisite authority to purchase and possess the minerals.

”They were also not paying royalties to the Federal and state governments as required by law,” he added.

On the suspects arrested for alleged bribery, the spokesman noted that the suspects offered N1.2 million bribe to the operatives to secure the release of one of the seized trucks.

“The duo approached the commission operatives at the point of arrest and negotiated to give them money to secure the release of the seized truck.

“The officers played along and got the suspects arrested at the point of delivering the money.

“The sum of N995,500 was recovered from Waheed, who claimed to be a manager at a filling station in Ogbomosho, while the sum of N201,000 was recovered from Olalekan, who claimed to be a scavenger.

”The suspects will be arraigned in court upon conclusion of ongoing investigations,” he stated.

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