30 persons engaging in illegal mining along the Maitumbi area in Minna Niger State have been convicted to 30 days of community service by Justice Ummulkhaltume Muhammed of the Minna Chief Magistrate Court .
The suspects, according to the police’s First Information Report, were arrested by a team of task force attached to the state’s Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources, early this month.
According to the prosecutor, they were arraigned before the court on two counts bordering on criminal conspiracy and illegal mining, which contravened Sections 97 and 474 of the penal code law.
The police prosecutor, Inspector Bello Mohammed, told the court that some of the suspects were minors and housewives, who had confessed to the crime.
The suspects pleaded guilty to the charges, saying that they were out to struggle to make ends meet, while some of the suspects told the court that they used the money realised to pay for their school fees, pleading to the court for forgiveness.
Justice Muhammed while considering their plea, convicted the suspects to engage in general cleaning of Maitumbi Primary School and Day Secondary School, for the period of thirty days, under the supervision of Sarkin Hausawan Maitumbi, adding that any person who defaults will be liable to pay a fine of five million Naira.
The Magistrate also frowned as to why the security agents arrested only the miners without the buyers of the product, adding that without a buyer, there would be no miner.
The convicted persons were made to write an undertaking, not to go back to the business again.
