Adams Oshiomhole, chairman of the senate committee on interior, has alleged that retired military generals are behind the spate of illegal mining activities in the country.

According to Channels Television, the senator made the allegation on Friday during the budget presentation by Sampson Ekong, chairman of the senate committee on solid minerals development, to the senate committee on appropriation.

“The ongoing illegal mining across the country is being carried out by retired generals, and we know them. They use helicopters to cart away gold, making billions of dollars, while the country suffers,” Oshiomhole said.

“This issue has been left unchecked for too long. We have the data and surveys showing where these activities are happening. It’s time for the government to deploy joint task forces, just as it has done in tackling oil theft.”

Oshiomhole said he had written to former President Muhammadu Buhari about the situation during his stint as the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), detailing how illegal miners arm local groups and use sophisticated equipment to exploit resources.

The senator asked the federal government to take decisive action on the illegal mining crisis, advocating for robust measures similar to those deployed to combat illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta.

Last year, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, launched the mining marshals to checkmate illegal mining of solid minerals across the country.

[TheCable]