The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested 10 individuals for allegedly engaging in illegal mining activities in Ilorin, Kwara State.
The commission disclosed that the suspects were intercepted with six truckloads of minerals suspected to be lithium and kaolin as part of its ongoing crackdown on illegal mining.
The suspects were apprehended by operatives of the EFCC’s Ilorin Zonal Directorate during a coordinated sting operation along the Ilorin–Ogbomosho axis, spanning Kwara and Oyo states.
In a statement issued on Monday, the EFCC said the suspects were arrested after they “could not present any valid licences, permits, or approvals authorising their mining or haulage activities.”
The agency noted that the arrests followed actionable intelligence exposing a coordinated network involved in the unlawful excavation and transportation of mineral resources.
The EFCC added that the latest operation brings to 18 the number of suspects arrested by its Ilorin Zonal Directorate for illegal mining within the past month. It stated that the suspects will be charged in court upon the conclusion of investigations.
