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The Uyo Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has reported the arrest of five Chinese individuals on suspicions of engaging in illegal mining at Ndito-Eka-Iba village in the Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
The EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale who had openly disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, had also revealed that the suspects were arrested by the Commission’s Special Task Force on August 29 and September 10.
Oyewale who named the suspects to include Zhon Qinping, Li Yi, Xie Bin, Chen Mou Zhou and Chen Zeng, said they were all arrested at an illegal mining site of a mineral suspected to be ilmenite, a titanium-iron oxide mineral at Ibeno.
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He said the suspects would be charged to court upon completion of investigations.
Parts of the statement read, “Operatives of the Uyo Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, have arrested five suspected illegal Chinese miners at Ndito-Eka-Iba village, in Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
“The five alleged illegal miners were arrested by the “Special Task Force on illegal Mining” at the Commission’s Zonal office in Uyo, following credible intelligence on the illegal activities of foreign mining companies within Eket and Ibeno Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State.
“They were all arrested at an illegal mining site of a mineral suspected to be ilmenite, a titanium- iron oxide mineral.”
The head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, mentioned on Wednesday that the commission plans to persist in overseeing bank transactions in order to prevent financial funding to criminals such as bandits and terrorists.
Olukoyede also emphasized the link between insecurity and corruption, pointing out that corruption leads to poverty. This, in turn, makes unemployed individuals susceptible to being recruited into banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism.
Represented by the Director of the Public Affairs Directorate, Wilson Uwujaren, Olukoyede made these remarks at the 2024 Annual Civil-Military Conference organized by Civil-Military Cooperation at the National Defence College, Abuja.
