Task force arrests 3,500 illegal miners in Taraba
The Task force on the Enforcement of Ban on Illegal Mining and Deforestation in Taraba State has arrested 3, 500 illegal miners in Bali Local Government Area of the state.
A retired Brigadier General, Jeremiah Faransa, who is the Chairman of the task force made this known on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jalingo.
Faransa said that the illegal miners arrested were from largely Mali, Senegal, Chad, Zamfara and other parts of the country.
According to him, the state is richly blessed with abundant natural resources begging to be harnessed not just for the benefits of the locals but the state and the country at large.
“This beautiful atmosphere endowed by nature is being threatened by the activities of some unauthorised people through illegal mining.
“These illegal miners take home billions of Naira on daily basis at the expense of the locals, and they damage the ecosystem and environment which will have multiple effects on the future of the state.
“Dogon Yatsu, is an unmotorable thick forest which has become their new abode where they extract mineral resources of various kinds,” he said.
Faransa said that those arrested were prosecuted by a Mobile Court set up by the state government, and assured that the special task force would keep tracking and arresting the illegal miners to safeguard the environment and economy of the state.
