No less than 109 alleged illegal miners have been taken into custody by the Nasarawa State Police Command as they were working in the state’s Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area.
The state commissioner of police, Umar Nadada, made the announcement Tuesday while parading the suspects at the police area command in Lafia, the state capital. He said the suspects were apprehended after diligent work by command officers from the anti-kidnapping unit working with the Nasarawa Eggon LGA Vigilante group.
According to him, the operation started at Mada station and went all the way to Wakama hamlet, circling the length of Alogani Mountain that kidnappers use as a hideout to hold their captives until a ransom is paid.
No less than 109 accused illegal miners have been brought into custody by the Nasarawa State Police Command as they were working in the state’s Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area.
The state commissioner of police, Umar Nadada, made the news Tuesday while parading the accused before the police area command in Lafia, the state capital. He stated that following assiduous work by command officers from the anti-kidnapping unit collaborating with the Nasarawa Eggon LGA Vigilante group, the culprits were captured.
He claims that the operation circled the length of Alogani Mountain, which kidnappers use as a hideout to hold their hostages until a ransom is paid, starting at Mada station and ending at Wakama village
He said, “Yesterday, February 19, 2024, at about 6am, the anti-kidnapping unit of the command in collaboration with vigilante groups from the Nasarawa Eggon LGA engaged in a massive raid of some criminal hideouts at Alogani hills in Nasarawa Eggon LGA.
“They raided from Mada station to Wakama area to arrest suspected kidnappers. Unfortunately, some of them ran away but we were able to arrest some illegal miners, about 109 of them who are here.
“We immediately took them into custody and we have commenced an investigation. We are ready to partner with the state government to ensure that these illegal miners are profiled and then further necessary actions will follow.”
Yakubu Kwanta, the Nasarawa State Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, praised the police for apprehending the suspected miners, but he also offered them a pardon on behalf of the state government and promised to make sure they were arrested and prosecuted if they carried out the heinous deed.
“We commend the Nasarawa State Command of the Nigeria Police Force under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police for this diligent operation that has apprehended these illegal artisanal miners in their hundreds. This can only be achieved with the benefit of hindsight backed by strong local experience; on behalf of His Excellency, the Executive Governor, thank you for this feat.
“On this note, I strongly put to them (suspected illegal miners) as an order and a last chance to repent from their illegal operation and form cooperative groups and get registered with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment as a first step followed by a further registration and profiling by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources for the purposes of documentation and identification of their operational status for peace and security; this they must do with the urgency it deserves before returning to their mining sites.
“This is a kind gesture in the posture of the current Administration to allow for private business development and economic empowerment for poverty reduction, but this should not be a licence for illegality,” Kwanta said.
