The Marshals claimed they were blocked from detaining the suspects by
military and police officers, who were reportedly on site to protect the
Chinese miners.
The Marshals, led by Commander Attah Onoja, had conducted a sting
operation aimed at detaining unlicensed miners and confiscating their
equipment.
As the Marshals prepared to transport the suspects to Abuja, they were
ordered by security personnel to halt the arrests. To avoid further escalation,
Onoja withdrew his team, vowing to pursue legal action to ensure the
enforcement of lawful mining practices in the region.
The Federal Government recently launched the Mining Marshals initiative
under the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, in collaboration with the
Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). The program aims to tackle
the growing issue of illegal mining across the country.
El-TahDam Exploration CEO Engr. Adamu Tah, whose company reportedly has
a valid lease for the mining site, alleged that the Chinese company, backed by
local security forces, has been carrying out unauthorized mining activities,
frustrating his firm’s plans to establish a $50 million processing plant in the
area.
Tah claimed the illegal operations not only exploit valuable resources
but also prevent his company from generating over 3,000 local jobs. He called
for immediate intervention to remove the alleged illegal occupants and allow
lawful operations to commence.
“The Chinese, because of the illegal mining
they are undertaking there, exploiting and carting away countless tonnes of
crude materials, want to frustrate our efforts to set up the processing plant
there.
They also have some state actors in strong
support since the complaint letter to that effect dispatched to them remains
unattended.
Other local cohorts and influential figures are clearly behind
their illegal act, no doubt,” Tah stated.
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