A joint team of security operatives has arrested 12 individuals involved in unauthorized mining activities in Ondo State.
The operation, which included personnel from the 32 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, targeted illegal mining operations, leading to the arrest of the suspects.
The arrested individuals are Abdullahi Ibrahim, 40; Hassan Bala, 40; Alawude Damilarin; Ajayi Ebukun, 35; Oluwaseun Rufus, 34; Adebayo James, 25; Kamal Zaharadeen, 25; Mohammed Bello Lawal, 25; Yunusa Mohammed, 24; Ma’azu Auwal, 24; Bashir Muktar, 24; and Kabiru Sani, 21.
Olugbenga Atiba, Senior Special Assistant on Security to Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, confirmed the arrests to journalists in Akure on Thursday, August 8.
Atiba explained that the suspects, mainly from Niger and Zamfara States, were apprehended while the task force was acting on reliable intelligence to address and prevent kidnapping activities in the state.
“We deployed our personnel across Ondo’s three senatorial districts, penetrating deep into the forests to prevent kidnapping and make arrests where necessary. The illegal miners, primarily from Niger and Zamfara, had infiltrated these districts and were conducting unlawful activities until their apprehension,” Atiba said.
This comes after four additional bodies were recovered from the site of a mining pit collapse in Galkogo, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, two months after the incident
