THE Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, on Friday, May 15, disclosed that foreigners arrested for illegal mining activities and suspected to be linked to terrorism have been handed over to the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) for further investigation.
Alake, while fielding questions from Channels Television at an event in Abuja, seemed to have confirmed claims by some United States (US) lawmakers linking illegal Chinese mining to terrorism funding in Nigeria.
He did not specify the number of foreigners handed over to the office of the NSA, but added that over 327 persons, including foreigners, have been arrested for illegal mining, with about 142 of them facing prosecution and about 3,000 mining licences revoked.
Alake attributed the successes recorded, including the revenue generation of the solid minerals sector from N6billion in 2023 to over N70billion by the end of last year, to President Bola Tinubu’s strategic transformation of the solid minerals sector, saying as a result of the victories in the solid minerals and other sectors, Tinubu’s reforms will overcome decades of corruption and weak institutions in Nigeria.
Tinubu had, last year, lamented the continued expropriation of the country’s mineral resources, which he alleged was undermining West Africa’s stability.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, at the Annual General Meeting of the Network of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA), the President said: “I believe the time has come for us to designate resource theft, mining and stealing of minerals in the region as an international crime that threatens regional stability and galvanise the world against threats from stolen minerals from West Africa.”
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