The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Uyo Zonal Directorate, has arrested five suspected illegal miners for allegedly extracting and transporting 1,200 bags of ilmenite, locally known as black sand, without the required licence.
The suspects – Samuel Akwa, Willie Uboko, Muhammed Tukur, Salmannu Ibrahim and Jaafar Adam – were arrested on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, while conveying the consignment in a truck.
The EFCC, in a statement on Friday posted on X formally Twitter, said, “At the time of their arrest, the suspects were conveying one thousand two hundred (1,200) bags of ilmenite in a truck without authorisation. All they had was a waybill indicating that the consignment belonged to a certain WillJane Global Ventures Limited.
“WillJane Global Ventures Limited is owned by one of the suspects, Willie Peter Uboko. He has been operating without a mining licence for the past four years and transporting ilmenite to unidentified destinations.”
According to the commission, the suspects told interrogators that they were headed to Onne, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to make a delivery when they were intercepted.
The EFCC said the arrests followed “weeks of surveillance along the coastal lines of Mkpanak, at Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
“The suspects are making useful statements and will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded,” it added.
Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral used in producing titanium dioxide, a pigment widely applied in paints, plastics and paper, and requires government authorisation for mining and transportation in Nigeria.
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