Metro
EFCC Parades 41 Illegal Miners In Ilorin; Impounds 12 Trucks Loaded With Stolen Mineral Resources
Published
2 years agoon
By
Editor
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ilorin zonal command on Tuesday paraded 41 illegal miners. arrested within and outside Kwara state.
The Zonal commander, Michael Nzekwe while briefing journalists on the development said that the EFCC made the arrest following credible intelligence over the activities of the illegal miners transporting truckloads of assorted minerals outside the state without due license.
According to him: “preliminary investigations showed that the minerals suspected to be marble stone, white powder, lithium and lepidolite among others, are being transported outside the country for production of goods at the expense of the Nigerian economy.”
He stated that unnamed foreign nationals were behind the illegal exercise and have been getting across to the commission.
READ ALSO: EFCC Arrests General Overseer Over N1.3bn Fraud
Aside the culprits, Nzekwe added that 12 fully loaded articulated vehicles conveying various natural minerals were impounded at different locations in Share, Banni, Lade, Patigi and Okolowo in Kwara, and Igbeti and Ogbomosho in Oyo state.
Nzekwe said his command was invigorated with “renewed efforts to fish out local and foreign collaborators depriving the country of huge sum of revenue and causing serious environmental hazards to the people through illegal mining activities.”
He harped that illegal mining is punishable with life imprisonment under Section 1(8) (b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17, 1983, recalling that the commission had warned that it would be unrelenting in the fight against corruption.
Nzekwe also noted that,”Aside the law that frowns on illegal mining activities, the act is an economic sabotage capable of causing environmental devastation, socio-economic hardship, insecurity, banditry and a host of other vices.”
READ ALSO: N3.6bn Fraud: EFCC Seeks Court Order To Arrest Ex-NDDC Boss
He said that the suspects now under investigation would be duly prosecuted according to the rule of law.
He gave details of the registration number of the twelve trucks impounded by the anti-graft agency as: FG 179 6B, KWM 398 XA, TRE 419 YJ, ABC 795 XD, KWS 351 XC, ZUR 370 XJ, YL 667 XA, T3815 LA, AAA998XA, SHD 625XA and KWM 416 XA.
Nzekwe who warned that the EFCC would get the illegal miners sooner or later however advised those interested in the mining business to duly register with state,and federal government in order to be able to pay the appropriate governments their due royalties .
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Metro
Police Arrest Siblings Over Communal Clash In Ondo
Published
1 hour agoon
September 14, 2025By
Editor
Ondo State Police Command has arrested two brothers, Ogunsemore Gbadebo and Michael Ogunsemore for their allegedly involvement in a violent communal clash that occurred in Eki/Oboto Community of Ilaje local government area of the State.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the suspects had been locked in a prolonged land dispute with the monarch of the community, Oba Oyetayo Ofoaye of Aboto.
According to the. state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olusola Ayanlade, the matter was first taken to the Okitipupa High Court, which ruled in favour of the monarch.
However, not satisfied with the verdict, the siblings filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Akure, where the appellate court again upheld the Oba’s position.
READ ALSO:Job Seekers Protest Alleged Fake Employment Letters For Ondo Teaching Jobs
The PPRO alleged that the brothers resorted to self-help thereafter, recruiting armed thugs to unleash violence on the community rather than accepting the judgement of the Appeal Court.
It was learnt that the attack reportedly perpetrated by the suspects and their gangs, displaced residents, destroyed huts, palm produce, and other valuables, while one Jeremiah Okuntimehin sustained machete injuries in the fracas.
“This criminal escalation turned a civil dispute into a grave security threat, prompting swift police intervention,” the PPRO said.
According to the police spokesman, the police launched a coordinated operation that led to the arrest of the brothers – Gbadebo and Michael, who have since been arraigned in court.
READ ALSO:JUST IN: Ex-Ondo SDP Governorship Candidate Dies
He added that efforts were ongoing to track down other fleeing members of the group who took part in the unrest.
Ayanlade stressed that the arrests marked a decisive step in restoring peace to the affected community, warning that communal violence will not be condoned under any guise.
Commissioner of Police in the State, CP Adebowale Lawal cautioned individuals and groups against undermining judicial decisions or taking the law into their own hands, warning that such acts would attract the full weight of the law.
He assured residents of Eki/Oboto and Aboto of adequate police presence and urged them to remain calm, law-abiding, and cooperative with security agencies.
The CP also emphasised that dialogue and peaceful engagement remained the only sustainable means of resolving communal disputes.
Metro
Foreign Currency Found On Beggars As 40 Evacuated In Kwara
Published
1 hour agoon
September 14, 2025By
Editor
The Kwara State government has again evacuated another set of 40 beggars from the street of Ilorin, the state capital.
The evacuation of beggars was carried out by the officials of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development in collaboration with operatives of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS), Kwara State Command.
During a search conducted on the beggars, a foreign currency (US dollar) was found on one of them, Musa Mahmuda, who claimed to be from Kano State.
READ ALSO:Bandits Invade Kwara Community, Kill One, Kidnap Eight Others
A sharp knife was found in the possession of another beggar.
Seven of the evacuees were second term offenders, having been arrested during a previous evacuation excercise but they returned to the streets again.
The operation was conducted at Tipper Garage in Tanke, Offa garage and Garin Alimi areas – all in Ilorin metropolis.
The Commissioner for social Welfare and Development, Dr Mariam Imam, expressed delight that the excercise was yielding the desired results, saying the number of those evacuated from the streets in the latest exercise has “dratically reduced from 94 arrested during the last time to 40”.
READ ALSO:Police Arrest Man For Allegedly Dismembering Pregnant Sister-in-law In Kwara
She said the ministry’s evacuation team was changing its “strategy as the beggars too were changing their tactics and locations to evade being evacuated from the streets.”
She implored those patronising the beggars to stop doing so and channel their offerings through religious organisations, orphanages and places of worship, reiterating that street begging has been outlawed in the state.
The head, Non-custodian Centre, Nigerian Correctional Services, Kwara State Command, Adebayo Okunola, said the appropriate punitive measures will be meted out to the arrested beggars to serve as deterrence to them and others.
“We will make sure that they clean the streets, they will sweep the streets so that they will know that there is dignity in labour,” he stated.
Metro
NDLEA Arrests Indian Businessman, 3 Others Over Alleged Trafficking Of N3.9bn Tramadol
Published
2 hours agoon
September 14, 2025By
Editor
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, alongside three Nigerian accomplices in connection with the seizure of 2,248,000 pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg.
Kumar was apprehended alongside Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode and Bakare Korede Muheeb at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos.
The tramadol shipment worth N3,990,000,000 in street value was imported from Delhi, India, disguised as multi-vitamins in 114 cartons and arrived the import shed of the Lagos airport on an Ethiopian Airline flight on Monday 8th September 2025.
NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi said a team of NDLEA officers who had put the consignment under surveillance, swooped on a clearing agent and two drivers who were trying to move the shipment out of the airport in two trucks on Thursday, September 11th.
READ ALSO:NDLEA Arrests 26, Recovers 41,410.53 KG Drugs In Edo
Babafemi said a follow-up operation the following day, Friday, led to the arrest of the Kumar, when he was trying to take delivery of the consignment.
At the Terminal 2 departure of the airport, NDLEA operatives on Sunday, September 7, intercepted a passenger Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi while travelling on a Qatar Airline flight to Doha.
“A search of his bag led to the recovery of 900grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis concealed in crayfish. As a first-time traveler, Onyeganochi claimed the bag was given to him to help take to Doha by a Qatar-based Nigerian Ohaodiegwu Anthony Uchenna who actually followed him to the airport.
“His confession led to the arrest of Uchenna who was still within view. Operatives who later conducted a search of Uchenna’s hotel room in Ajao Estate discovered additional 200grams of the same psychoactive substance.
READ ALSO:NDLEA Busts Cartel, Recovers ₦6.4bn Drugs From Kingpins
“He claimed he was to return to Doha days later and pick the bag from the unsuspecting Onyeganochi if he had succeeded in escaping security checks,” the NDLEA said.
Meanwhile, at the Tincan Port in Lagos, a total of 161 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 81.7kg and 1.2kg hashish oil were recovered from a 40ft container of vehicle spare parts and used vehicles imported from Montreal Canada during a joint examination of the shipment on Tuesday 9th September.
Two suspects including John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, were arrested in connection with the seizure.
READ ALSO:NDLEA Arrests Widow Using Fake Pregnancy To Traffic Cocaine
Another shipment of Canadian Loud with a total weight of 65kg was tracked from the port to Third Mainland bridge where NDLEA operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle conveying the consignment, recovered it and arrested the driver Abubakar Ibrahim, 42 on Thursday 11th September.
Two separate shipments of methamphetamine concealed in picture frame and Loud, hidden in video players were seized at two courier companies in Lagos on Monday 8th and Thursday 11th September respectively by NDLEA operatives.
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