The Chairman of the taskforce on illegal mining in Taraba State, Brigadier General Jeremiah Franssa, has raised the alarm over the activities of illegal miners in the state.
He raised the alarm on Monday in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State, while briefing journalists on the task force’s activities, which had toured the mining sites spread across the state.
It would be recalled that Governor Agbu Kefas, on assumption of office, banned all forms of mining in the entire axis of Taraba.
A task force headed by the aforementioned retired army general was also put in place to checkmate illegal miners and those who are feeding fat on deforestation.
“The level of what we saw in all the sites we visited was very discouraging, and what illegal miners have done to Taraba is a sad development,” he lamented.
Citing Niger Delta, where he said the ecosystem had been destroyed, and Zamfara State, where he alleged that illegal mining was the reason for the increase in armed banditry in the state, he said the task force would leave no stone unturned to frustrate the ill activities of illegal miners.
Faranssa, who believed that it is no more business as usual, urged those interested in coming to the state to invest to follow due process, stating that We are not stopping investors from coming to Taraba state but must follow due process.
Disturbed that the miners are not contributing to the growth of their host communities in the form of building health facilities, schools, and boreholes, among others, the retired army general, who argued that the state is not benefiting from the miners, urged miners interested in carrying out mining activities in the state to adhere strictly to due process.
