Ebonyi NSCDC Declares War Against Artisanal Mining ,Convicts Over 17 For Sundary Crimes

By Alex Odeh

The Ebonyi State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has sounded a strong warning to illegal artisanal minners to immediately shut down their activities in the State, or be prepared to face the wrath of law.

Speaking at the Command’s headquarters during the occasion to mark the one year anniversary of the Ebonyi State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Francis Chika Nnadi, decried the increasing rate of illegal artisanal minners.

Nnadi further disclosed that so many people had been arrested by the command for sundry crimes relating to vandalism and cultism, while over 17 others had been convicted by the court.

The words of the Commandant, “As long as you’re acting illegally, we shut you down. And those who have refused to obey, we prosecute them immediately. So we have some few cases in the court now. But I want to use this opportunity to warn. Artisanal mining in the state is on the high side.

“And we are working hand-in-hand with the Federal Mines Office, the Minister of Solid Minerals in the state, to make sure there is a harmonious relationship among all agencies that supervise this.

“Now, for those who are doing this illegally, if we have not caught up with you, time is coming. We’ll catch up with you. And we advise you, if you don’t have the prior licence to operate, please shut down before we come to you.

“Because if we get to you, there will be no room for you to say I am sorry. We prosecute the person. And of course, that’s the revenue part of the state. Crime and criminality are supposed to be our business”, he admitted.

Nnadi reiterated security was the business of everyone, adding that the command had over 30 cases in court for various crimes.

“The state security is everybody’s business. But in a very short while, we have had so many arrests. We have no less than 25 to 30 cases in court. We’ve got about 14 convictions for various crimes.

“Vandalism, cultism, you can just name it. So, we have government statistics there. We’ve gotten about 14 or 17, my legal officer here, she’s supposed to give me the, but we’ve gotten about 14.

“The arrests are so numerous, I can’t even count. So, by give and take, like I said earlier, Ebonyi happens to be the safest state in the southeast. It’s not rocket science.

“It means that security agencies in the state are top of their game. And the synergy we actually enjoy here is not like any other state. We synergise, we come together, we share intelligence”, he said.

Earlier, the Commandant explained that since he assumed office last year October, he had made tremendous achievements by introducing solar-powered circuit system, standard conference room, solar-powered water system, upgrading the skills of personnel to ensure that non-state actors do not take over the state, among others.

He said, “With asymmetric warfare we are facing now, we have to upgrade our skills to make sure the non-state actors don’t take over the states. And then, in collaboration with other sister agencies, we’ve been able to nip most of the crimes in the bud. But that I wouldn’t have achieved without my management staff here”, he stated.