The Chairman of the Special Taskforce Committee on Environmental Protection, Public Safety, and Prohibition of Deforestation, retired General Jeremiah Aliyu Faransa, has taken drastic measures against illegal mining operations in Taraba State by setting fire to a mining camp.
Naija News reports that this action follows Governor Agbu Kefas’s issuance of an Executive Order banning all forms of mining activities in the state.
Over the weekend, Faransa executed his threat by burning down a mining camp in Akwana village, located in the Wukari Local Government Area. Faransa stated that the camp was operating illegally despite numerous warnings.
“Despite several warnings, the illegal miners in the area refused to adhere to the Executive Order issued by His Excellency Governor Agbu Kefas. I will not hesitate to set ablaze any mining camp that defies the Executive Order of Governor Agbu Kefas in the best interest of the state,” Faransa declared.
In addition to destroying the camp, the taskforce also arrested three suspected miners on the site.
Faransa indicated that these suspects would be brought before the Special Mobile Court on Environmental Protection, Public Safety, and Prohibition of Deforestation for prosecution.
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Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas has stated that illegal mining in the northern part of Nigeria is denying the country $9bn annually.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to put an end to the activities of the illegal miners.
Abbas lamented that the illegal miners are responsible for about 80 per cent of the current insecurity in the northwest part of the country in particular.
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