FCT NSCDC Arrests 22 Suspected Illegal Miners in 5 month

From August till date, the Federal Capital Territory Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has detained 22 unauthorized miners and 82 alleged vandals.

These numbers were provided by Mr. Olusola Odumosu, the FCT Commandant of the NSCDC, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja.

According to Odumosu, 20 people were detained in relation to theft of manhole covers and damage to vital infrastructure and national assets.

According to him, in September, five individuals were taken into custody on charges of damaging electricity cables, fourteen for allegedly damaging other public properties, and two more for allegedly stealing televisions.

According to the commandant, among the other suspects are 28 people who were allegedly arrested for damage on railroads and destruction of other important national assets.

 “Eleven were apprehended in October for illegal mining. December recorded parade of 11  illegal miners and two vandals,” he added.

According to Odumosu, the command, which he led, had sanctioned three private guard companies for a number of infractions, such as operating without a license and failing to renew one.

He declared that in 2024, the command was ready to step up its efforts to crack down on vandals, unauthorized PGC operators, and miscreants in the Federal Capital Territory.

The nation’s unlawful mining operations and acts of terrorism are occurring throughout the nation, and on December 12, Minister of Solid Minerals Dele Alake laid the responsibility for these actions on anonymous “Powerful Nigerians.”

When Alake led a delegation of senior ministry officials to defend the 2024 budget estimates before the House Committee on Solid Minerals at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on Tuesday, he made the accusation.

In an attempt to stop illicit mining nationwide, the Federal Government, according to Alake, has established interministerial measures to combat the threat and safeguard the country’s abundant natural resources.

NAN