Naijahood
Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested seven suspects for engaging in illegal mining activities. Additionally, two individuals were apprehended for attempting to offer a bribe of N1.2 million to compromise the EFCC operatives.
According to a statement by Dele Oyewale, the spokesman of the Commission, the arrests were made following credible intelligence and days of surveillance. The operation took place on Friday, May 24, 2024, in Ogbomosho, Oyo State.
The suspects arrested by the EFCC are Waliyu Abidoye, Abubakar Auwal, Abdulrauf Hakim, Sabiu Usman, Salihu Godwin, Dauda Mohammed, and Olalekan Aremu.
According to the statement, at the time of arrest, five truckloads of assorted minerals suspected to be lepidolite, lithium, and precious stones, among others, were recovered from the suspects.
Investigations revealed that the suspects were not licensed miners and lacked the necessary authority to purchase and possess the minerals. Additionally, they were not paying royalties to the Federal and State Governments, as required by law.
The EFCC also arrested two other individuals, Faleti Waheed and Noah Olalekan, who allegedly offered a bribe of N1.2 million to the operatives to secure the release of one of the seized trucks.
“The duo of Waheed and Olalekan approached the EFCC operatives at the point of arrest and negotiated to give them money in order to have their seized truck released. 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 the conclusion of ongoing investigations, as stated in the release.
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