Amid increasing involvement of foreigners in illegal mining in Niger State, the police have arrested two suspected illegal immigrants in Fadikpe, a suburb of Minna.
Their arrest came on the heels of the discovery that some of those who engage in illegal mining in the state were from neighbouring West African Francophone countries.
The police public relations officer, Wasiu Abiodun, said yesterday in Minna, that they were arrested based on information received from the Fadikpe area of the state capital that strange faces were living in the community.
He said police operatives attached to Government Reserved Area (GRA) Division moved to the identified residence where four strange persons were found.
“On sighting the police operatives, the suspects took to their heels, but two among them, Saidu Jah and Sirinjuf Jibrin, both from Senegal, were arrested,” he said.
He said, “The strange persons could only communicate in French language and could not give a satisfactory account of themselves with the help of an interpreter”.
Consequently, he said they were transferred to the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) for further investigation and necessary action.
