The public relations officer of the NSCDC, Babawale Afolabi, who made this known in a statement issued on Saturday said that the four Chinese nationals were arrested at an illegal mining site where lithium is sold at Karu Local Government Area of the State.
Operatives of the mining marshals of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have arrested four Chinese nationals for illegal mining in Nasarawa State.
The public relations officer of the NSCDC, Babawale Afolabi, who made this known in a statement issued on Saturday said that the four Chinese nationals were arrested at an illegal mining site where lithium is sold at Karu Local Government Area of the State.
Afolabi stated that “Following the commissioning of some specially trained NSCDC personnel as Federal Government Mining Marshals, the team has intensified efforts to clamp down on illegal miners sabotaging the economy of the nation.
“The Mining Marshalls with a renewed vigour swung into action following credible intelligence and uncovered an illegal mining site where lithium is sold at Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
“During the sting operation, the squad arrested four Chinese nationals who through preliminary investigation admitted that they were running an illegal site used for selling lithium.”
The NSCDC spokesperson said that the Mining Marshall Commander, Attah John Onoja, noted that the minerals in question were seized in line with the provisions of Section 146 (b) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2007, adding that the arrest of the Chinese nationals was sequel to their refusal to honour invitation for questioning.
The Commander further noted that an application would be lodged in court for forfeiture of the impounded lithium minerals while the proceeds would be remitted to the Federal Government.
He said that preliminary investigations unearthed where the minerals were being disposed of without the required license.
The statement quoted Onoja as saying that “The arrested suspects have confessed to the crime, admitting that they held no certificate or license to deal in the solid minerals.
“The suspects are running a business venture identified as HOSAN AGRO-ALLIED COMPANY LTD which was registered to deal in agricultural-related activities.”