Eight alleged illegal miners have been detained by Kwara State Police Command agents in the state.
Additionally, three trailers laden with marble were found in the state's Patigi Local Government Area.
The Association of Licenced Miners of Kwara State and the residents and natives of Patigi in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State wrote a petition and a letter to the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State, Paul Odama, alleging that illegal miners have turned their ancestral lands into a beehive of illegal mining of the mineral resources by doing so.
According to the command's Public Relations Officer, SP Okasanmi Ajayi, the police responded
Based on this plea, Kwara State Police Command sent a team of agents to the area to make arrests and, if feasible, retrieve and seize any illegally mined minerals.
The police team sprang into action, and on October 30, 2022, at around 2:00 a.m., the defendants listed below were taken into custody along with three trailer loads of suspected unlawfully mined marbles.
The suspects are Mohammed Zanihat Idris, 27, Alhassan Rabiu, Mohammed Abdulbagi, Ibrahim Sule Balarabe, Mohammed Dalhatu Idris, and Abubakar Tasiu. Mohammed Abdulbagi is one of the suspects.
He is 28 years old and drives a trailer with the licence plate SGM 222 ZR. Isah Amisu is also 28 years old and drives a trailer with the licence plate GBE 347ZE.
The suspects were detained in the state's Share, Tsaragi, and Patigi districts, the spokesperson said.
The seized evidence has been brought to the state police headquarters, and the suspects have been charged with crimes after questioning and confessions, the official stated.
The order made it clear that any attempts to undermine the economy and any actions that endanger the lives and property of the state's citizens will be met with resistance.
The CP urged Kwara state's good citizens to work with the police to purge the state of any criminal activity.