EFCC Arrests 11 for Suspected Illegal Mining Activities in Ilorin

Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested eleven persons and impounded eight truckload of assorted minerals for suspected involvement in Illegal mining activities in Ilorin, Kwara State

The suspects are Ibrahim Gambo, Hakeem Saka, Ahmad Muktar, Sulaiman Ibrahim, Ibrahim Muhammad, Jamiu Mustapha, Rabiu Musa, Aisha Muham, Abdulwasiu Hannafi, Qudus Olalere and Babatunde Hakeem.

They were arrested on Wednesday, May 5, 2024, upon credible intelligence at different locations in Ogbomosho, Oyo State while conveying assorted solid minerals suspected to be marble stone, white powder, lithium, lepidolite to undisclosed destinations without lawful authority.

The suspects will be arraigned in court upon conclusion of ongoing investigations.

Gold smuggling out of Africa, mainly to the United Arab Emirates, has surged over the last decade, with hundreds of tonnes of gold worth tens of billions of dollars illegally leaving the continent every year, according to a report published on Thursday.

Analysis by Swissaid, an organisation that focuses on development aid and advocacy, found that a total of 435 tonnes of gold, mostly mined by small-scale miners and worth more than US$30 billion, was smuggled out of Africa in 2022.

Swissaid said the UAE was the main destination for Africa’s smuggled gold and took in 405 tonnes in 2022. Over the previous decade, UAE accepted more than 2,500 tonnes of smuggled gold with a total value of over US$115 billion, the organisation said.

cashtivist:
Free for all

Houseontherock1:
EFCC on top of everything? I think the NPF is supposed to be in charge of cases like illegal mining? Okay...maybe somehow, it's a financial crime...but then, robbery is also a financial crime and EFCC won't go after armed robbers

Houseontherock1:
EFCC on top of everything? I think the NPF is supposed to be in charge of cases like illegal mining? Okay...maybe somehow, it's a financial crime...but then, robbery is also a financial crime and EFCC won't go after armed robbers