The Ilorin Official from the Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have apprehended seven illegal suspects for mining activities alongside five truckloads of minerals seized from the suspects.

This was revealed by the anti-graft agency in a statement posted on X.com on Wednesday.

The statement partly read, “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.

“At the point of arrest, five truckloads of assorted minerals suspected to be lepidolite, lithium, and precious stones, among others, were recovered from the suspects.

“Investigations revealed the suspects lacked the necessary licenses and permits for mining and mineral possession.

“They were also not paying royalties to the federal and state governments, as required by law,” it added.

Two others, were also arrested by the officials, Faleti Waheed and Noah Olalekan, for attempting to secure the release of one of the trucks with a N1.2 million bribe.

The statement added, “The duo of Waheed and Olalekan approached the EFCC operatives at the point of arrest and negotiated to give them money in order to have their seized truck released.

“The officers played along and got the suspects arrested at the point of delivering the money.”

It was said that the sum of N995,500 have been recovered from Waheed, who claimed to be a gas station manager, while N201,000 was recovered from Olalekan, who claimed to be a scavenger.

However, the EFCC stated that the suspects will be charged to court once the investigation is completed.