The Federal Government on Monday, prosecuted several suspects of illegal miners arrested in Kogi and Ondo states as part of ongoing efforts to sanitize the mining sector.

The operation, code-named “Operation Hayakin Kogo,” took place in the Ikah Community of Ankpa LGA, Kogi State resulting in the arrest of two (2) Chinese nationals and a Nigerian for mining activities in violation of existing mining regulations.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, noted that the Mining Marshals also raided an illegal gold mining site in the Ogunlepa, Oluwa Forest Reserve, Odigbo LGA of Ondo State, where four suspects were arrested.

He said: “These individuals, caught in the act of illegally mining gold in a Government Reserved Area, confessed during interrogation that they lacked the necessary licenses or authorisation to carry out their operations.”

The Minister, in a statement by its Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, noted that the suspects from both Kogi and Ondo states have since been charged to the Federal High Court, Abuja.

It will be recalled that the 2,570-strong Mining Marshals, specially trained and drawn from the ranks of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), is a brainchild of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, as part of his 7-point agenda, hinged on sanitising and reforming the mining sector.

The Minister reaffirms the Federal Government’s commitment to eliminating illegal mining in the country by bolstering the operations of the Mining Marshals with the infusion of technology and imminent satellite monitoring of mining sites.

He urged those still involved in illegal activities in the mining sector to turn a new leaf and comply with the relevant sections of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (NNMA) to regularise their operations, stressing that the resolve of the Federal Government to wield the big stick is unflinching.