Licenced miners in Rivers State under the aegis of Miners Association of Nigeria, Port Harcourt Branch have called for the intervention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to eject illegal counterparts and address alleged extortion by officials of the State Government.
The Asociation made the call when its Chairman, His Royal Highness, Hope Daminabo Dan Opusingi led his members on a courtesy visit to the Acting Director, Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate of the EFCC, Asistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE1 Adebayo Adeniyi.
Opusingi lamented the alleged harassment and extortion of registered miners in the state by some unscrupulous state government’s actors, whom he claims often shut down their mining sites and impound their equipment without any legal backing. He further observed that while there are numerous mining companies operating in the state, only few, he said, are licensed and implored the EFCC to swing into action against the illegal mining companies.
“Most of the mining companies are not authorized, they do not even have licence or any kind of authority from the federal government. They are here, operating illegally and causing confusion in the mining sector. The EFCC among other agencies is a member of the Presidential Tax Force on Mining that was set up by the federal government in 2019,” he said.
In his response, Adeniyi, who was represented by ACE 1 Ude Nkechi Rita, thanked the Chairman and members of the association for identifying with the Commission and assured them of a swift response, adding that the EFCC will not only enforce the laws against the illegal mining but will also enlighten members of the association through workshops on the laws governing activities in the sector to enable them guard against extortion and harassment.
“I appreciate your courtesy visit. We have heard all you said and thankfully enough, we now have a committee on illegal mining which is currently handling a lot of matters on illegal mining,” she said.
Head, Illegal Mining Task Force, Superintendent of the EFCC, SE Adamu Alhassan assured of his team’s readiness to sanitize the mining sector and sought the cooperation of the association.