NSCDC arrests seven suspected illegal gold miners in Osun

The Osun State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has arrested seven persons for alleged illegal gold mining in Itagunmodi, Atakumosa West Local Government Area of the state.
Tunde Ajilore, the Special Adviser to Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Mining and Mineral Resources, who disclosed this to journalists on Wednesday in Osogbo, said the suspects were arrested on Monday.
Ajilore said that the State Government’s effort to curb the activities of illegal miners underscored the importance of a structured biometric database of miners in the state.
He said that illegal miners had done a lot of damage to the gold mine site in the state, pointing out that their activities amounted to economic sabotage.
He said that the state government would not fold its arms and allow the activities of illegal miners to continue unchecked in the state but would stop them all.
He said: “As a state, what we are saying is that there is need for us to know how many miners that are here; a landlord who does not know how many people he is feeding will surely be bankrupt.
“For the past three months, we have stopped all activities in the bush in order to approximate and know the number of people that operate at the mining site.
“That was why we asked miners in the state to come for biometric capturing. We were able to register 6000 miners within one and half months.”
Also speaking, the State Commandant of the NSCDC, Aboluwaye Akinwande, said investigation into the activities of such miners was ongoing, adding that anyone found culpable would be charged to court.
Akinwande said: “Our next action is to conduct a preliminary investigation and follow it up before charging them to court.”