Ogun State government has arrested a Syrian and a Nigerian for allegedly engaging in illegal mining activities along the industrial corridor of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Bimbo Ashiru, Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, who disclosed this while leading an enforcement team to the illegal mining site at Boun Village, Shimawa, behind Redemption Camp in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of the State, said that the culprits would be made to face the full wrath of the law.
Ashiru lamented that illicit activities of miners had wrecked serious havoc to lives and property as well as degraded the environment, warning that the present administration in the State frowns at the unlawful acts of making profit at the detriment of government’s revenue and citizens’ wellbeing.
He said, ‘’It is good to sound this note of warning to unscrupulous elements that are in the illegal business of destroying the environment in the name of mining. As a government, we will do our best to curb illegal mining because the lives of residents are precious to us.
“Unfortunately, the people involved make money at the detriment of law abiding residents. I can assure you that we will take holistic approach to end these activities and whoever is caught engaging in it would face the full weight of the law. For instance, this Syrian and his accomplice will not go unpunished.”
Ashiru however, noted that the monitoring activities would continue until illegal mining is nipped in the bud with a view to forestalling environmental hazards.