27 illegal miners, comprising 17 Chinese and 10 locals, including a local traditional chief (Baale),have been arrested by the Osun State Joint Task Force (JTF) which was recently inaugurated by Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State.
A coordinated sting operation around Ilesa and Ife axis of the state led to their arrest.
Deputy Chief of Staff to the State Governor, Abdullahi Binuyo, while reacting to the development, said no responsible government would fold its arms and watch its land being degraded by unauthorised persons.
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According to Binuyo, aside from the economic leakages, the illegal miners had also polluted the Osun River with poisonous metals, thereby making it unsafe for human consumption and irrigation.
He added that apart from ensuring that those arrested were prosecuted, they would also be made to pay compensation.
“As part of the government’s economic reforms, the solid minerals sector is a major sector we are looking to explore . For these reforms to work, it has become imperative to stop illegal mining and step up enforcement activities. The result is what we are witnessing today.
“The people you see here neither have genuine mining licences nor are they registered with the government. What they claim to have are Exploration Licences, which do not allow them to mine the way they are doing. So we will be prosecuting them and making them pay damages.
“Apart from flouting the government’s Covid-19 Order, by refusing to stay at home, they have created an environmental disaster for us, by poisoning our river which is a major public health concern for us,” Binuyo added.
Earlier, one of those arrested, May Zam, who was the only one that could speak passable English among the Chinese, disclosed that she was not aware they were engaged in illegal mining.
She said she worked for different companies, and she believed they should have mining licences, adding that the current company she worked for, which she failed to name, had a Nigerian sponsor.