*Photo: A mining site*
Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, said on Monday, July 15, that illegal mining which many have linked to the security in parts of the country is carried out by those with connections in high places and often brag about it.
He spoke just as the Nigerian Army said it has so far arrested 387 individuals in connection with illegal mining across the country since December, just as Speaker Abbas Tajudeen said about 80 percent of insecurity in the northwestern part of the country is perpetuated by illegal miners
They spoke at the commencement of an investigative hearing into the activities of illegal miners in the country by the House Committee on Solid Minerals.
Represented by the Director of Operations at the Defence Headquarters, Air Vice Marshal Nnaemeka Ignatius Ilo, the Defence Chief said that most people involved in the process have connections backing them up, adding that foreigners also come into the country to carry out the illegal act.
“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’re released.
“Talking of illegal mining, I’m going to talk about how the military sees it. There are so many other stakeholders that I want to talk about. From our various operations and the statistics that we have, we notice that, first of all, the framework guiding mining in Nigeria is very, very good. It needs to be strengthened.
“In 2018 or so, during the last administration, there was a ban on illegal mining. Despite that ban, mining licenses were being issued to people to mine. So the strengthening of the institutional framework is very key.
“The leader of the house made mention of something about banning mining for like a year. It is very key that we do that. I know the country is going to somehow feel the effects in terms of revenue. But we need to go a little off the level in order 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.
“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’s 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 really 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.
“The third aspect we noted is poverty. These areas where this illegal mining takes place, the people are poor. Virtually, lack of education is also part of it. Most of them that we get, one way or the other, have no formal education.
The people perpetrating this illegal mining use them and that is the source of livelihood of the people within that area. The army will give a little bit of detail on some arrests that we’ve made or mining sites that we’ve raided. I’m just talking in general terms.
“So what is the way forward? The way forward from our own view is that we have to strengthen the regulatory framework for these mining activities and empower 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 should be dealt with decisively, while also engaging the international community.
“In 2011, this same issue we are facing in Nigeria was obvious in Liberia. The international community was approached after they’d seen the atrocities of things done. And that’s when the issue of blood diorama came up. What did they do? You know, there’s carbon dating on every mineral resource that is in an area involved.
“So they banned the Liberia diorama in the international community, both from Liberia and Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor was the main person because that was how they started. So they banned it in the international market. By so doing, they couldn’t access this product. And of course, naturally, the mining activities started dying in those areas. So we also can approach the international community.
“More so, we should engage the communities where these activities are done. How do we engage them? We could organize lectures through the languages around there on how sustainable, legal, and sustainable mining is done. And how they can key into it.
Also, the government could look into how to give them another source of livelihood, because they live on this mining. Even when it is banned, it is difficult to get them out of the mine because that is how they survive.
“Finally, the government needs to show their willpower that they actually want to tackle this thing by ensuring that anybody, no matter how highly placed that is involved in illegal mining faces the books accordingly.
Also speaking, a representative of the Nigeria Army, Colonel Tajudeen Lamidi said the Nigeria Army has arrested 387 individuals in connection with illegal mining.
He said: “The Nigerian Army conducts a wide range of operations across all the geopolitical zones of the country. As it is now, we have the Nigerian Army deploying in almost every state of the country in one operation or another and in view of this, what we do basically is support those agencies that are constantly mandated to protect the critical national infrastructures of the country, including mining.
“In carrying out our operations, we have to contend with illegal miners. What we do after arresting them is to 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 conduct operations together when we go to some of these illegal mining sites. 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.
“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, 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 Oyo National Park, we’ve arrested around 55 people.
“In Minna, we meet about 17 trucks loaded with Konzite. In Plateau, we have 25, while in Zamfara, we have 15.
“We will continue to collaborate with the agencies that are constitutionally mandated to check illegal mining. But we realize there is a nexus between insecurity and illegal mining, which the chairman also alluded to in his opening remarks.
“If you want to reduce insecurity in the country, those agencies that are mandated to fight insecurity must also fight illegal mining.
“The issue of those communities is important because there is poverty which makes it very, very difficult to check illegal mining. It is not only the people coming from outside that are involved. The locals benefit from it.
“But the question is, what is the role of the state, what is the role of local government in illegal mining? I think most of it is raised with the federal government. Why the state and the local government don’t actually have roles to play? I think we need to look for roles for both the state and the local government to get involved.
We also discovered some of the companies, have exploitation licenses and not mining licenses. So what they do is use one license to do the two.
Declaring the hearing open, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen attributed about 80 percent of the current insecurity in the North Western part of the country to activities of illegal miners.
The Speaker however lamented that despite the benefit that should have accrued to the communities, they have continued to live in abject poverty and deprivation, stressing that the time to act is now.
The Speaker said Illegal mining activity has become a growing socio-economic challenge in Nigeria which has led to loss of ecosystems and increased poverty level especially among peasant farmers who depend solely on environmental resources for a living.
The Speaker said while Nigeria is richly blessed with solid minerals deposit which should bring great fortune to the country and the citizens, the wealth from solid minerals has largely been stolen by criminal elements.
He said available reports indicates that an estimated 80% of mining in the North West region is carried out illegally with the mining of large untapped mineral deposits in the area at the root of community violence.
The Speaker expressed concern that the various mining communities in Nigeria are living in agonizing conditions, economically and socially, arising from years of neglect, deprivations and severe environmental degradation, air and water pollution, arising from unsafe mining practices by illegal miners.
He said that the impact of the unprecedented illegal mining across Nigeria, which has been devastating as farmlands, crops and economic trees are not only destroyed by mining activities but reduced their benefit and value to the residents.
He said the rise in illegal mining in the country highlights fundamental social, institutional and structural problems in the country, adding that the interaction is aimed at providing enough guidance on curbing the menace of illegal mining and also assessing the role played by the Regulators in the process of their regulatory functions in the particularly as it relates to mining practices.
He said the decision of the House to investigate illegal mining shows its commitment and determination to take decisive steps towards addressing nefarious mining practices and the non-compliance with set standards in the solid minerals sector, including the Nigeria Minerals and Mining Act (Amendment) Bill and the Nigeria Solid Mineral Development Company (Establishment) Bill which are currently before the House, and for which a Public Hearing will be held on 17th July 2024.
Chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals, Hon. Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi said the country was losing over $9 billion annually from the activities of illegal miners, adding that the only money coming into government coffers from the sector is the3 percent royalty paid by a few of the licensed miners.
Gbefwi said illegal mining poses substantial risks to the nation’s economy, environment, and security, adding that the unregulated exploitation of the natural resources in the country jeopardizes the sustainability of the mineral sector, leading to environmental degradation and revenue loss that could otherwise benefit our communities and nation as a whole.
He said: “It is imperative that we take as a matter of urgency, decisive steps and necessary action to address this issue and ensure that our solid mineral sector operates within the framework of the law, protecting our natural resources for future generations.
“As representatives of the people, the parliament is deeply worried about the loss of revenue through unregulated and illicit mining operations with the Federal Government disclosing that unlawful mining costs the country $9bn each year, with the only money coming from a 3 percent royalty paid by the few licensed miners.
“This development as you all know, hampers the country’s ability to maximize the benefits from its mineral resources. There is also the grave concern about the negative impacts of illegal mining which has led to insecurity and conflicts over control of mining sites and their resources.
“These conflicts have escalated into violence thereby exacerbating existing political and social tensions in affected communities which has resulted in the limited data availability and inadequate measures to control this illicit practice”.
He said that the public hearing serves as a valuable platform for collecting insights, information, and recommendations from stakeholders, experts, and affected communities, adding that its time to collaborate and take immediate and decisive actions to revitalize and develop this critical sector for the overall benefit of all Nigerians.
