Four Operators Arrested As Makinde Shuts Mining Facility

A facility being used by suspected illegal miners to process and package lithium out of Oyo State was on Saturday, shut down by the state governor, Seyi Makinde.

According to the chief press secretary to the governor, Sulaimon Olarewaju, Makinde ordered the closure of the facility, which was originally a factory meant for recycling batteries and tyres.

Four persons suspected to be operating at the site were equally ordered to be arrested by the governor, noting that they operated against the approved licence secured from the government for business operations in the state.

Preliminary investigation according to Makinde who was on an unscheduled inspection tour to the factory site at Idi Ayunre, Oluyole Local Government Area, Ibadan, revealed that the factory was being operated by some Chinese.

He added that though the federal government issued an operational licence to the miners in line with constitutional provision; there will always be security threats and concerns when states do not have an input in the issuance of mining licences.

The governor explained that the factory and its operators had contravened the Executive Order 001 of 2024 on the safe handling of harmful substances, noting that the arrested factory workers would be prosecuted accordingly.

The governor also said the state government would take over the illegal factory facility through a court process until it gets to the bottom of the matter.