By KELECHI OGUNLEYE

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has uncovered 460 illegal mining sites and arrested 387 suspects in 14 months.

The NSCDC Mining Marshals, Commander, Attah Onoja, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.

Onoja said that from the successfully identified 460 illegal sites, 99 illegal mining sites had been recovered.

He said that 146 persons had been charged to court.

?The lawful mineral title holders of these recovered sites have taken possession of their sites for lawful mining activity, thereby generating revenue for the Federal Government,? he said.

According to him, 25 per cent of the arrested suspects were of foreign nationalities, adding that the law justly takes it course notwithstanding nationality if found guilty.

He also said that the squad had adopted 28 ?clearance operations? in environments with armed bandits, areas with threats of resistance and intelligence reports about dangerous attacks based on past incidents.

?In carrying out this clearance operation, we ensure to maintain an operational standard that will give you results without necessarily having casualties, either from our own troops or the adversaries,? he said.

The commander emphasised that the operations of the mining marshals carefully followed strategic planning through thorough intelligence and surveillance activities.

?It is the report of our intelligence and surveillance operation that determines the operational strategy to adopt, so while we identify illegal mining sites through intelligence and surveillance operation and at times through written petitions by displaced mineral title holders or license holders.

?There are some that warrant or demand clearance operation, especially illegal mining sites that are characterised by banditry or terrains that has no form of government presence.

?Terrains where you get to and you will not even know the country you are because it is not close to any normal environment; sometimes you access this terrain through motorcycles for hours and such operations do require diplomacy,? he said.

He said that the inauguration of the marshals by the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, has significantly improved Nigeria?s mining sector.

He further attributed some of the successes of the team in protecting mining sites, communities and reduction in environmental hazards caused by unregulated mining activities to the leadership of the NSCDC Commandant-General, Ahmed Audi.(NAN)

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