Reps attribute 80 percent of insecurity to illegal mining

By Linda Ike

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudden Abbas said the activities of illegal miners in the country are responsible for about 80 percent of the current insecurity in the North West of Nigeria.

Abbas disclosed this at an investigative hearing, on the activities of illegal mining in the Solid mineral sector in the country, on Monday, in Abuja.
He said the host communities have continued to live in fear, abject poverty, and deprivation, instead of getting benefits that should have been available to their communities.
He called for the need for Government to act now, stressing that Illegal mining activity has caused Nigeria, a socio-economic challenge, leading to. the loss of the ecosystem and high poverty levels, especially among farmers.
He regretted that the solid mineral deposits which are. expected.to bring great fortune to the country. has failed as its wealth has been stolen by criminal elements.
Tajudeen said, “Reports indicate that an estimated 80% of mining in the North West region is carried out illegally with the mining of largely untapped mineral deposits in the area at the root of community violence.”
Chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals, Jonathan Gbefwi said illegal mining poses substantial risks to the nation’s economy as Nigeria loses over $9 billion annually from the activities of illegal miners.
Gbefwi said the Nigerian government receives only 3 percent of royalty paid to its coffers from the sector by a few of the licensed miners, lamenting that unregulated exploitation of the natural resources jeopardizes the sustainability of the mineral sector, causes environmental degradation, and revenue loss.
He said, “We must take as a matter of urgency, decisive steps and necessary action to address this issue

The Representative of the Nigeria Army, Colonel Tajudeen Lamidi said that the Nigeria Army has arrested 387 individuals in connection with illegal mining.

“The Nigerian Army conducts a wide range of operations across all the geopolitical zones of the country. I think virtually as it is now, we have the Nigerian Army deploying in almost every state of the country in one operation or the other. And because of this, what we do is to support those agencies that are constantly mandated to protect the critical national infrastructures of the country, including mining.

“And in doing that in our operations, we have to contend with illegal miners. And what we do is after arresting them, we hand them over to the appropriate agency available in that area. Some of these agencies include the Department of State Security Services, the Nigerian Police Force, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps.

“Sometimes we do conduct operations together where we go to some of these illegal mining sites together and conduct operations. But because the Nigerian Army cannot prosecute them, we hand them over to those agencies to continue with the prosecution aspect.

“As contained in the memo, from December to date, we’ve arrested 387 individuals in connection with illegal mining. We also have bank rules and some of these are illegal – these miners that were arrested were handed over as exhibits to those agencies for them to be prosecuted.

“In summary, I would say from December to date, in Abia, we have 10 people arrested. In Ebonyi State, we have 12., In the Federal Capital Territory and its environs, I mean places like Kuje, Bwari, and more, we’ve arrested 276 individuals. While in Osun State, we’ve arrested 19, In Oyo, particularly in the northern part of Oyo State, where they share a boundary with Kwara State, those places are very close to the whole Oyo National Park, we’ve arrested around 55 people. I think theMinnaa, in that particular place, meets about 17 trucks loaded with Konzite. In Platea, we have 25, while in Zamfara, we have 15.

“When the APM was talking the other day, he mentioned the issue of the ban on mining activity in Zamfara. Well, sadly, we still arrested people in that community that it is still taking place. Just like I said, we continue to collaborate with the agencies that are constitutionally mandated to check illegal mining. But it is because we realize there is a nexus between insecurity and illegal mining, which the chairman also alluded to in his opening remarks, when he said, if you want, you cannot fight illegal mining without fighting security.

“If you want to reduce insecurity in the country, those agencies that are also mandated to fight insecurity must also fight illegal mining.” He said.

Director Of Operations, Air Vice Marshal Nnaemeka Ignatius Ilo who represented the Chief of Defence staff said that most people involved in the process claimed they have connections backing them up.

He added that foreigners also come into the country to carry out the illegal act

He said The leader of the house made mention of something about banning mining for like a year. It is very key we do that. Ban mining all across for one year. I know the country is going to somehow feel the effects in terms of revenue, but we need to go a little off the line to ensure that we get things right, so that we can decisively deal with those involved in this illegal mining.

“Then one thing we notice also is that, whether it’s coincidence or what, we can’t say, but we notice that insecurity thrives where this illegal mining is happening. Someone once said that the issue of banditry and terrorism is like a smokescreen to stop the governments and the military from dealing decisively with these people. I can’t for sure ascertain that fact, but I know fully well that there is a correlation between insecurity and illegal mining

“On the issue of involvement of foreigners, We have foreigners involved in this illegal mining.

“The involvement of the elites in it, we can’t tell, but we know that most of the time when we catch these foreigners, they will tell us that they have connections. I don’t want to say some things, but sometimes you hand these people over and the next thing you see, they are released.

We have as far as people from Burkina Faso coming to mine in Nigeria. So the strength of our borders, too, is a factor. Why I’m saying all this is that there’s a need for the government to equip properly those involved to checkmate most of this illegal mining.

“There is a need for the government to equip them properly and also give them the marching order. It’s one thing to say and another thing to see that the government is committed to dealing with people.

“Anybody caught in this illegal mining must be dealt with decisively and examples should be made for others to know publicly that this is what the government is doing to ensure that we tackle that area.”

He added, “So what is the way forward? The way forward from our view is that we have to strengthen the regulatory framework for these mining activities. And also empowers the agencies involved in checking mining activities for them to do their work. We could go into this banning of mining for a year or two and then probably get the acts right.

“Anybody seen committing illegal mining will be dealt with decisively. Engaging the international community. In 2011 in Liberia, this same issue we are facing in Nigeria was obvious. The international community was approached after they had seen the atrocities of things done. And that’s when the issue of blood diamonds came up. What did they do? They banned the Liberia Diamond in the international community.”