No fewer than 32 people, including two Chinese migrants, were arrested over illegal mining following a raid of the Kisi-Sooro market by the state joint security taskforce, popularly called Operation Burst, on Sunday.
The arrest came after a clearance operation against illegal miners at an illegal lithium mining market in Sooro, Irepo, a local government area of the state.
After the raid on the Sooro market, the state deputy governor, Mr Bayo Lawal, ordered the immediate evacuation of all illegal structures and shanties built across the market, as well as its closure.
Lawal said the raid became expedient following an extremely negative security situation that demanded the government’s immediate action.
Director General, Operation Burst, Colonel Oladipo Ajibola (retd.), made the number of arrests known after a meeting of security chiefs, the state deputy governor, Bayo Lawal; the Iba of Kishi; and security aides to Governor Seyi Makinde at the state secretariat, Ibadan, on Monday.
Ajibola attributed the successes in the fight against illegal mining to the collaboration between traditional leaders and security agencies.
He added that the joint efforts were targeted at the restoration of peace and order in the Oke-Ogun area of the state.
Also speaking after the meeting, executive adviser to the Oyo Governor on Security, Sunday Odukoya, assured residents of Kishi in Oke-Ogun that adequate machinery has been put in place to address the challenges of illegal mining alongside dealing with other criminal activities in the region.
Aside from arresting the illegal market, Odukoya said the state government has ordered the indefinite closure of the Sooro market at Kisi.
He insisted that the state government would not tolerate any act of lawlessness in any form, including illegal mining, as he tasked residents of the area not to conspire with culprits.
He warned against connivance, stating that the state government would not relent in making anyone found culpable face the wrath of the law.
Speaking, the Kisi traditional leader, represented by the President of the Kisii Indigenes Union, Bioku Abdulrahman, appreciated the state government for its proactiveness on security, pledging to always provide assistance to curb security challenges in the region.
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