Lai: Illegal miners provided arms for Zamfara bandits

Lai Mohammed, minister of information, says illegal miners fund bandits to fuel crisis in Zamfara.

Mohammed, who spoke when on Good Morning Nigeria, a programme on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), explained that business booms for the illegal miners in a crisis-torn and hostile environment.

He said the miners arm the bandits to make the state ungovernable.

The federal government had banned mining in the state and ordered foreigners within mining sites to leave.

The government also launched a special military operation “Operation PUFF- ADDER” to curb the activities of bandits in the state.

“People begin to ask what is the nexus between instability in Zamfara, kidnapping and banditry and illegal mining,” Mohammed said.

“There is a lot. For instance, if you are doing illegal mining, abinitio, it is illegal. The more unsettled the area is, the better for you.

“We find out that a lot of ammunition and money were being turned out to the bandits so as to make the area ungovernable. The higher the rate of the crisis, the better for the illegal miners.

“We have a harvest of criminals many of them arrested, their actions neutralized and cache of ammunition recovered.

“On the April 14, they neutralised 11 kidnappers, recovered six AK47, 1200 rounds of ammunition.

“Shortly after that, they were able to arrest those who kidnapped the Channels Television correspondent.”