Niger State Governor Umaru Bago has called on the Presidency or the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to issue an executive order banning mining activities in locations identified as problematic across the state.
Bago made the call during an interview following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
He said stronger federal intervention was needed because the state government had limited powers to enforce mining regulations and control federal security agencies.
“We need decisive action. We need an executive order from the Presidency or from the Ministry of Mineral Resources to ban mining in certain locations where we have seen they are problematic,” he said.
“Once that is done, it can be enforced,” he added.
Bago raises concern over children in mining
The governor also raised concerns about the increasing involvement of children in artisanal mining, saying the practice was affecting education in Niger State.
“We know that gold mining in Niger State has become habitual,” Bago said.
He cited a UNICEF report which, according to him, projected that by 2027 there could be no children left in Grade 7, or JSS1, in some affected communities because of their involvement in artisanal mining.
“All of them are into artisanal mining, and all of them have left the classroom and they are not in schools. And this is a problem for us,” he said.
Bago also said the state government was not informed about the arrest and detention of the suspected miners before their deaths.
He described his authority over federal security agencies as limited, saying: “I am just chief security of the state by mouth.”
“I cannot take an oath for what I cannot control,” he added.
37 suspected miners die in NSCDC custody
The 37 detainees died after they were arrested during anti-illegal mining operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on 15 and 16 September.
Bago had said 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners were detained at an NSCDC facility before 37 died. The exact cause of the deaths remains under investigation.
The governor said he saw “a lot of corpses on the floor” after the incident and claimed that some of the deceased were not miners.
He also said the location where the arrests were made was not a licensed mining site but a housing estate.
The NSCDC initially linked the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak but said medical examinations would establish the actual cause.
20 NSCDC officers suspended
The Federal Government has suspended the Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Aniviye, and 20 other officers pending an independent investigation into the deaths.
Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has also constituted a 10-member committee to investigate the identities of the deceased, their arrests and detention, and the cause and circumstances of their deaths.
The committee has two weeks to submit its report. The investigation follows President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive and transparent probe.
The NSCDC on Sunday paraded Aniviye and other officers linked to the incident at its national headquarters in Abuja as it presented its preliminary findings.
Police are also investigating the deaths, while the incident has triggered protests in Minna and led authorities to impose a curfew.
Bago said his administration would continue seeking answers over the deaths and addressing the wider challenge of illegal mining in Niger State.
