Six foreign nationals and 10 Nigerians have been arrested over alleged involvement in illegal mining and banditry by the Nigerian Police during raids in Zamfara State.
A breakdown of the nationals apprehended by the police during the illegal operations showed that three were from Burkina Faso while the other three traveled to the country from Niger Republic.
The State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Dalijan, made this known while parading the suspects at the Command Headquarters in Gusau, the state capital on Thursday.
Dalijan explained that the three suspects, who were from Burkina Faso, were arrested in the Anka Local Government Area, where the mining site of the late bandit kingpin, Halilu Sububu, is located.
He noted that the suspects were arrested with some dangerous chemicals including CNI chemicals which they were using in extracting gold.
According to him, the suspects traveled from Burkina Faso to Nigeria purposely to engage in illegal mining in the state.
“We are trying to find out where they keep their arms because we believe they are fully armed, they have taken over the mining pit of the late Halilu Buzu, and we want to find out their relationship.”
The Commissioner noted that 10 additional illegal miners from Talata-Mafara local government were also apprehended with many bags of mineral processing chemicals.
Dalijan explained that three Niger Republic nationals were arrested with three locally fabricated AK-47 rifles and AK-47 ammunition.
He further disclosed that the command had also arrested three people from the Niger Republic with fabricated AK-47 rifles but they used AK-47 magazines and ammunition. and assured to find out the manufacturers.
Dalijan also expressed concerns over the rate of irregular migration of foreigners into the country for crimes.
He reiterated the Command’s determination to ensure the ban on mining illegal mining is fully enforced
“We are being threatened by our neighbors, some people from Burkina Faso and Niger coming here to commit all sorts of crimes, for some to leave Burkina Faso to come and enter our bush where our people cannot ordinarily enter, there is more to it.
While emphasizing that mining is still illegal, the police boss stressed that the Federal Government had banned mining in Zamfara State, the state government also banned mining after which the Inspector General of Police earlier mandated the Command to enforce the law.
Dalijan assured the command readiness to continue enforcing it until there are no illegal miners in Zamfara State.
