A civil society group, Action for Economic Development (AED), has called for a thorough investigation of 387 suspected illegal miners recently arrested by the military, to halt criminality in the mining sector.

The Convener of the group, Bilkisu Bello, made the call in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

Bello commended the armed forces, under the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, for supporting other security agencies in curbing illegal mining activities in the country.

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She said the Defence Headquarters had confirmed the arrest of the 387 individuals, at a meeting with the House Committee on Solid Mineral on Monday.

The group expressed concern that criminals had continued to get away with the country’s resources in the midst of hardship, being faced by Nigerians.

The convener said the arrested individuals must be thoroughly investigated to know those behind them.

According to her, the group learnt from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), that Nigeria had lost about 46.16 billion dollars (N16.25 trillion) from oil theft, as of 2022.

“It is unfortunate that this has now spread to the mining sector, with the confirmation, also by the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals that illegal mining activities in Nigeria are costing the country about 9 billion dollars annually.”

“It is disturbing, with the revelation by the Chief of Defence Staff that foreigners are involved in the economic crime.

“More disturbing is the impact on immediate environment where the illegal mining is taking place.

“We use this opportunity to commend the Armed forces of Nigeria for what is being done to curb crude oil theft, and now supporting other security agencies to curb illegal miners,” she added.