The Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde on Saturday swooped on a facility being used by suspected illegal miners to process and package lithium out of the state.
Governor Seyi Makinde stated this during a visit to the site.
The governor ordered the closure of the facility, which was originally a factory meant for recycling batteries and tyres.
He equally ordered the arrest of four persons suspected to be operating at the site, noting that they operated against the approved licence secured from the government for business operations in the state.
The governor also said that the state government would take over the factory facility through a court process until it got to the bottom of the matter.
He said, “You can see what is going on here; it is still the same problem—the illegal mining activities.
“Sadly, the folks are even getting bolder. This place, according to records available to us, was meant to be a yard for recycled tyres and batteries.
“But coming in here, you can see there is no single battery or tyre here. They are crushing lithium here, and they had support from all over.
“The preliminary investigation indicated that some Chinese are the ones leading this. They also have a lawyer from Katsina.
“The state government will take over the facility via a court process, as this is a clear violation of the Executive Order that I signed and a problem that we have to address.
“Some four people have been arrested, and they are with the security agencies. The Chinese people have been taken to immigration, and once we are able to find something to prosecute them, then we will prosecute them.
“We need to get to the bottom of this, but, in the meantime, this facility will be taken over by the government of Oyo State.”
