The Miners Association of Nigeria says suspending mining activities nationwide will not resolve the country’s security challenges.
In a statement signed by its National President, Dele Ayankale, and National Secretary, Sulaiman Liman, the association responded to the Northern Governors’ Forum, which recently proposed a six-month halt to mining following a series of abductions and killings.
The association argued that illegal, not legal mining, has been linked to terrorism, noting that previous bans including the 2019 suspension in Zamfara failed to curb insecurity and instead worsened it.
Ayankale warned that the proposed ban would cripple legitimate mining operations, fuel unemployment, worsen poverty, and embolden illegal miners who often operate with impunity due to inadequate enforcement capacity.
He added that legal miners work closely with security agencies and comply with environmental and community development standards, stressing that the governors should instead strengthen Mining Marshals using security votes or dedicated funding.
Ayankale said calls for revalidating mining licences amount to pushing for resource control, which is unconstitutional, and urged President Tinubu to consider that such a ban may create more recruits for terrorist groups.
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