The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Operatives, Ilorin Zonal Command, have arrested seven suspects for illegal mining and two others for offering a N1.2m bribe.
A statement shared by the anti-graft agency on the official X ( formerly Twitter) page stated that the arrest followed credible intelligence and days of surveillance, carried out on Friday, May 24, 2024, at Ogbomosho, Oyo State.
The statement partly reads, “Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested seven suspects for offenses bordering on illegal mining activities, and two others for offering N1.2 million bribe to compromise the operatives of the Commission.
The arrest, which followed credible intelligence and days of surveillance, was carried out on Friday, May 24, 2024, at Ogbomosho, Oyo State. The suspects are Waliyu Abidoye, Abubakar Auwal, Abdulrauf Hakim, Sabiu Usman, Salihu Godwin, Dauda Mohammed, and Olalekan Aremu.”
The commission also stated that five truckloads of assorted minerals suspected to be lepidolite, lithium, and precious stones, among others, were recovered from the suspects.
Further investigation revealed that the suspects were not licensed miners, did not have the requisite authority to purchase and possess the minerals, and were reportedly not paying royalties to the Federal and state governments, as required by law.
The Commission further stated that they arrested two other persons, Faleti Waheed and Noah Olalekan, who allegedly offered N1.2 million bribe to the operatives to secure the release of one of the sized trucks.
“The duo of Waheed and Olalekan approached the EFCC operatives at the point of arrest and negotiated to give them money to release their seized truck. The officers played along and got the suspects arrested while delivering the money.
“The sum of N995,500.00 (Nine Hundred and Ninety-Five Thousand, Five Hundred Naira Only) was recovered from Waheed, who claimed to be a manager at a filling station in Ogbomosho while the sum of N201,000.00 (Two Hundred and One Thousand Naira Only) was recovered from Olalekan who claimed to be a scavenger,” the statement reads.
The anti-graft agency stated that the suspects will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of ongoing investigations.
