37 Miners’ Deaths: Gov. Bago Demands Executive Order From Presidency To Ban Mining

Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, said his administration is seeking an executive order from the Presidency or the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to ban mining activities in locations identified as problematic across the state.

Naija News reports that Bago made this known during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Governor Bago said illegal mining had become a major challenge in Niger State, particularly as children were increasingly being drawn into mining at the expense of their education.

According to him, the state government needs stronger intervention from the Federal Government because it has limited capacity to enforce mining regulations.

He said, “I am in between the devil and the Red Sea because, as a governor, yes, it’s in my state. As a governor, I cannot just go and order the police or military to start shooting people or arresting people. As a governor, I can only make advocacy.

“But these people, because they have tasted the mining money, they cannot leave that side. 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. Once that is done, it can be enforced.

“We know that gold mining in Niger State has become habitual. The UNICEF report says by 2027 there will not be a single child in Grade 7, that is JSS1, because 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.”