By Festus Fifen.

The FCT Commissioner of Police CP Babaji Sunday says as part of efforts to end the menace of kidnapping, banditry and illegal mining and other criminal activities within the six states surrounding the Nigeria Federal Capital, a Joint Taskforce set up by the G-7 States on Tuesday, Arrested 21 illegal miners, including a community leader, 3 Chinese nationals and also recovered Fire arms and many other prohibited items in matte Village in Kwali Area Council of the FCT.

The cleaning Exercise Operationally codenamed “SafeG-7” comprises of security men from Kogi, Niger, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau states and The Federal Capital Territory.

According to a statement by the FCT Police command Public Relations Officer DSP Josephine Adeh, CP Babaji Sunday said activities of criminals within the G-7 region has become a worrisome trend, as such, heads of the respective security agencies in the region decided to embark on a massive raid and cleanup operation in all mapped out hideouts, camps and areas serving as refuges to miscreants .

The FCT Police Boss said the exercise is intended to further promote confidence building and take the fight to the miscreants in their hideout at the various boundaries between the FCT and other contingents states, so as to enhance safety and security within and around the states.

in his words, ” The team upon the receipt of actionable intelligence , stormed a camp at Azam village, where an illegal mining site of about 40 minutes walking distance from the said village was discovered. The miners who were said to have established a symbiotic relationship with bandits/ Kidnappers engaged the team In a gun duel and were forced to retreat, subsequently over powered by the superior fire power of the JTF and arrested. The team recorded the successful arrest of about 21 illegal miners on the sites including foreign nationals.”

” Majority amongst the arrested suspects were from the various bordering states, confessing to have enjoyed unfiltered cooperation with the head of the local community who was immediately taken into custody alongside the arrested suspects.”

” The three male Chinese national Suspects arrested in connection to the offense will be officially handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service, with a view of establishing their immigration status in Nigeria.” Navajo Sunday said.

The statement added that Upon arrest, exhibits recovered included: Refined and unrefined gold, two gold weigh scales, criminal charms, seventeen mobile phones, Four motorcycles, Two dane guns, shovels, cutlasses, two pumping machines, one generator, substances suspected to be Cannabis, and other forms of hard drugs. The two suspects linked with the possession of the aforementioned drugs will be handed over to the NDLEA .

The Commisioner of Police FCT Command, CP Babaji Sunday while registering the commands unflinching commitment to the crusade against crime and criminality in the state, urges residents to not relent in cooperating with the Police as touching the rendition of prompt and accurate information relevant in supporting the command’s anti-criminality crusade. The command implores residents to report all suspicious movements, emergencies or distresses through the following lines: 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653 and 08028940883.