INSECURITY: DEPLOYED ADDITIONAL SECURITY PERSONNEL TO SAFEGUARD MINING SITE, YUSUF URGES BAGO
The Chairman of the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), Niger State chapter, Abdulrazak Yusuf Mohammed, has urged Governor Mohammed Umar Bago to seek the deployment of additional security personnel to safeguard mining sites across the state amid worsening insecurity.
Speaking with journalists in Minna, Mohammed said persistent attacks by armed gunmen have forced many legitimate miners to abandon mining locations, threatening the state’s mining industry.
Chairman, Miners Association of Nigeria, Niger State Chapter
He said several mining communities have come under repeated attacks, turning mining sites into dangerous areas where miners risk their lives daily while pursuing their livelihoods.
According to him, if the attacks continue unchecked, both the Niger State and Federal Governments stand to lose significant revenue generated from the mining sector.
He lamented that insecurity is gradually bringing the exploration and exploitation of gold, lithium and other solid minerals to a standstill, noting that many of the state’s mineral deposits are located in forests plagued by recurrent bandit attacks.
“It has become more or less a suicide mission for miners, geologists and other professionals to enter the forests in search of mineral deposits,” he said.
Mohammed explained that mineral exploration requires activities such as bedrock mapping, geochemical sampling, pitting, trenching and drilling, but said these operations have been severely hampered by insecurity and are now largely restricted to relatively safe areas.
He disclosed that many geologists and miners have fallen victim to bandit attacks during exploration activities, adding that despite the state’s vast deposits of gold, lithium and other minerals, serious exploration has virtually ceased in recent times.
He appealed to the government to urgently strengthen security around mining sites and deploy modern surveillance technology, including drones and digital forest-tracking systems, to prevent the sector from collapsing under the weight of insecurity.
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