No fewer than seven persons have been arrested following their involvement in illegal mining operations at a gold site in the Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State.
This was revealed in a statement on Friday by Segun Tomori, the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake.
During the operation, mining marshals dislodged the illegal miners whose activities have prevented licenced miners from “accessing the site for 16 years.”
The statement read partly, “The nationwide onslaught of the Federal Government against illegal mining has gathered momentum with the arrest of several suspects allegedly involved in the illegal mining of gold in Yagba East LGA, Kogi State.
“The operation, carried out by the mining marshals in Iyeh Odogbe, Isanlu community of Yagba East LGA, involved dislodging illegal miners whose activities have prevented lawfully authorised miners with licences covering four cadastral units from accessing the site for 16 years. Reports indicate that the nefarious activities have gone unhindered for over 20 years.
“The well-coordinated operation, led by Commander, Mining Marshals, Attah Onoja, resulted in the arrest of seven suspects heading different groups of illegal miners in the area.”
The statement added that “following the successful operation, site workers were given five days to completely vacate the site as operations to effectively secure the area and ensure it is fully recovered for lawful mining activities would continue in earnest.
“It will be recalled that a similar operation was carried out recently by the mining marshals in Umunneochi LG of Abia State, leading to the arrest of eight Chinese nationals and a Nigerian, suspected to be involved in illegal mining.
“The trial of the suspects commenced last week at the Federal High Court, Abuja division, and they were remanded in Kuje prison until the adjourned date.”
ICPC to probe 13,350 missing diapers at Kebbi hospital
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has vowed to unravel the alleged missing of 13,350 diapers meant for antenatal care at a Primary Health Centre in Sambawa community, Kebbi.
The commission said it would investigate the criminal conduct and bring the culprits to book.
The Chairman of ICPC, Dr Musa Adamu, said this during a one-day conference, organised by the ICPC in Abuja, on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the theme of the conference is titled “Engendering Corruption-Free Primary Health Care Delivery For All.”
“Recently, the Sambawa community in Kebbi State sent a petition to us regarding missing antenatal care items for pregnant women and newborn babies donated to a healthcare facility.
“Our preliminary investigation indicated that the missing diapers allocated to Sambawa Primary Healthcare Centre are 13,350 pieces, while the investigation by Kebbi State Primary Healthcare Agency puts it at 3,466,” Adamu said.
He added that two staff members of the Sambawa Primary Healthcare Centre, a male and a female, were indicted for the missing items, saying that the commission intends to unravel the criminal conduct and bring the culprits to book.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Health, Ali Pate, said the country’s Primary Health Care faced multifaceted challenges, including corruption that must be urgently tackled.
