- says 3500 Local , Foreign Miners Arrested
Taraba State Government has raised alarm over illegal mining saying 3500 illegal miners have been arrested in Bali Local Government Area of the state.
- The chairman of the task force on enforcement of the ban on illegal mining and deforestation, Jeremiah Faransa who revealed on Monday, in Jalingo, the state capital said that the illegal miners take home billions of naira at the expense of locals and the country
Faransa said the illegal miners were from different parts of the country and neighbouring countries, including Mali, Senegal and Chad.
“This beautiful atmosphere endowed by nature is being threatened by the activities of some unauthorised people through illegal mining,”
“These illegal miners take home billions of naira on a daily basis at the expense of the locals. They damage the ecosystem and environment which will have multiple effects on the future of the state.
“Dogon Yatsu is an unmotorable thick forest which has become their new abode where they extract mineral resources of various kinds.”
Faransa said the arrested suspects have been prosecuted by a mobile court and will be punished accordingly.