Four suspects have been arrested by the Borno State Police Command for alleged illegal mining in the state, News About Nigeria reports.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Nahun Daso, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Maiduguri.
He noted that the suspects had been arrested while in possession of 70 bags of assorted solid minerals suspected to be monoxide, adding that they were arrested on March 24 with one diesel tanker truck.
According to the statement, the suspects were apprehended by the troops of 331 Battalion in Bayo Local Government Area of the state and handed over to the police.
He further noted that the suspects had confessed to the crime, adding that the investigation was still ongoing.
Recall that the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the state had earlier raised alarm on the illegal mining going on in the state.
The State Commandant of NSCDC, Farouq Musa-Boyi, noted that this has continued despite the ban on mining activities in the state.
He said that most of the illegal mining occurs in the Bayo Local Government Area of the state, where the unregistered artisans have caused environmental damage, especially in Wuyo, Jaradali, and Balbaya villages.
The Borno State Government also urged the military and security agencies to be vigilant and apprehend defaulters, maintaining that the ban on illegal mining remains active in light of the fragile security situation in Borno.
The state is home to several mineral resources, including feldspar, limestone, and kaolin, potash, iron-ore, quarts, magnetite, diatomite, trona, mica, silica sand, gypsum, granite, flutters earth, and uranium, among others.
