Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested two suspects, Faleti Waheed and Noah Olalekan, for allegedly offering N1.2m bribe to officials of the agency to compromise the operatives. Also in its custody are seven suspects for offences bordering on illegal mining activities.
A statement signed by Dele Oyewale, Head, Media and Publicity of the EFCC, said the arrest, which followed credible intelligence and days of surveillance, was carried out on Friday, May 24, 2024, at Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
The suspects, according to the EFCC, are Waliyu Abidoye, Abubakar Auwal, Abdulrauf Hakim, Sabiu Usman, Salihu Godwin, Dauda Mohammed and Olalekan Aremu.
“At the point of arrest, five truckloads of assorted minerals suspected to be lepidolite, lithium and precious stone among others were recovered from the suspects.
“Investigations revealed that the suspects were not licensed miners and did not have the requisite authority to purchase and possess the minerals. They were also not paying royalties to the federal and state governments, as required by law”, the statement said.
The commission also said it arrested Waheed and Olalekan, who allegedly offered N1.2m bribe to the operatives to secure the release of one of the seized trucks.
“The duo of Waheed and Olalekan approached the EFCC operatives at the point of arrest and negotiated to give them money in order to have their seized truck released. The officers played along and got the suspects arrested at the point of delivering the money.
The sum of N995,500 was recovered from Waheed who claimed to be a manager at a filling station in Ogbomoso while the sum of N201,000 was recovered from Olalekan who claimed to be a scavenger.
The suspects will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of ongoing investigations, the EFCC said.
