By Kelvin Ololo
The Chairman of Cross River State Anti-Illegal Mining Taskforce, Prince Paul Effiong has said illegal mining activities in the state are spearheaded and sponsored by rich individuals who buy consent from traditional leaders with peanuts to carryout their heinous crime.
Prince Paul made these assertions while responding to questions as a guest on a Political radio Program aired Thursday 15, May 2025 on FAD FM 93.1 Calabar.
Prince Paul said mining activity is not for the poor but for rich men. He averred that his taskforce is not one that trails thieves but a kind dealing with billionaires and those highly placed. Adding that “if you are not strong, the money alone can even drown you because they will bribe you and you will forget about your job.”
The Chairman had in CrossRiverWatch’s investigation fingered politicians, highly placed individuals in government and foreigners of invading and stealing Cross River resources.
READ: How Illegal Mining Endanger Lives, Environment In Cross River
While expressing confidence of weeding out illegal miners in the state, he noted that the task, however, will not be a smooth ride as he deals with barons and men of the underworld.
“I want to say that it has been a very serious task for us, but with the help of the State Security Advisor and all the security agencies in the states. We have been able to do a lot of work and there is a lot of resistance in the field.
“The most important achievement is that the Federal Minister of Mines are also with us. With the wisdom of His Excellency, when they are trying to integrate the committee, he made sure he brought in people that understand the mining acts; that know things about the mining activities. So the nine committee members I’m heading both the committee and the task force, are well-vested with the knowledge of the mining activities.”
He opined that Cross River forest is surrounded by Fulani herdsmen and people from the Northern part of the country. He alleged that “almost everybody that we arrested is either from Zamfara State. We have the list of the people. We have been able to arrest two with AK-47s and two shotguns.”
On the role of community leaders, Prince Paul said it has been a very serious problem with the team dealing with the traditional rulers and youth leaders.
He also accused traditional and youth leaders in communities of having hands in illegal mining activities in the state.
“You know, nobody will come into your house without an insider. So it has been a very big challenge to us. You know these miners, like I’ve said, they have money. What they do is that when they come into your community, they flash you with a car. Like one just bought one of the community leader a brand new Jeep. So you can imagine that. So when they come in, you as a chief, that you have not seen five million Naira before and they bring five million Naira to your table. You as a youth leader, you have not seen two million Naira before and they bring it to your table.
READ: Taskforce Arrests 10 Illegal Mining Suspects In Cross River
“So when they come in like that, they give them these little peanuts of money and they just give consent. And this consent that they get, they take it to Abuja and they give them a large number of lands.
“So when we said we have a lot of them now in the prison, when we arrest you, we take you to court straight to Afokang. So when they called trying to bribe us and we don’t get, they try to run away. So that is why I said there is a lot of resistance in the field now and we are ready to fight.
“One of our own achievements since we came in is to be able to encourage Cross Riverians to also come into mining, a lot of them they are doing the right thing. I can mention one of them like faith plant,” he said.
Prince Paul lauded the state government for modalities put in place in terms of security and other logistics to aid the team carry out their operations effectively in the state.
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