Under the auspices of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Port Harcourt Branch, licenced miners in Rivers State have requested that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, step in to stop the illicit activities of their counterparts and the extortion that they claim state government officials are engaging in.
The call was made by the Association when its Chairman, His Royal Highness, Hope Daminabo Dan Opusingi, took his members on a courtesy visit to the Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE1 Adebayo Adeniyi, who is the Acting Director of the Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate of the EFCC. Opusingi bemoaned the purported intimidation and blackmail of licensed miners in the region by certain dishonest state government officials, who he asserts frequently close down their mining operations and seize their equipment without any legal support. He He went on to note that, despite the fact that there are many mining businesses operating in the state, only few of them hold licenses. He urged the EFCC to take action against the unlawful 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 reply, Adeniyi—represented by ACE 1 Ude Nkechi Rita—thanked the association’s chairman and members for identifying with the Commission and gave them assurances that Adeniyi, speaking through ACE 1 Ude Nkechi Rita, responded by thanking the Chairman and association members for identifying with the Commission and promising a prompt response. He also mentioned that in addition to enforcing the laws against illegal mining, the EFCC will also educate association members through workshops on the laws governing activities in the sector, enabling them to protect themselves against harassment and extortion.
“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.” the speaker stated.
Superintendent of the EFCC and Head of the Illegal Mining Task Force, SE Adamu Alhassan, gave his team’s readiness while reassuring that his team was prepared to sanitise the mining industry.
