Nasarawa State Government has launched manhunt for illegal miners and mining companies who are in the habit of recruiting minors and underage workers at their sites and without recourse to industrial safety and welfare of the workers.
Commissioner for Environment, Mining and Natural Resources, Margaret Elayo, stated this in her office, while speaking to journalists in reaction to the death of young miners in the custody of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.
Elayo said the manhunt became necessary after receiving videos from the permanent secretary of the ministry, where underage persons were seen to be undertaking mining activities around the Wamba Local Government Area of the state.
She said, “Yesterday, the permanent secretary reached out to me like about 9 or 9.30pm and sent a couple of videos as it related to my state, Nasarawa State and I felt it is necessary for me to speak on it so that we can be guarded and use some of these challenges that other people are experiencing for us to be guarded so that the same mistakes will not be repeated in Nasarawa State.”
“So like I said, about 37 youths passed on; my condolences to the Niger State Government. Having said that, illegal mining is unacceptable regardless of who you are; very, very unacceptable. I have talked about this so many times and I believe you guys will bear me witness that we have called and you have been backing the state up as it relates to these issues when it comes to mining,” she reiterated.
Speaking further, she said Governor Sule has reiterated that the blessing of Nasarawa State with abundant mineral resources should not be exploited by investors and middlemen to the detriment of the environment and the people of the state.
“I have noticed that our people are still not listening, including the investors, and the purpose now for this information is I am going to take a very drastic decision that at the end of the day, it’s either you are here to support Nasarawa State’s growth or we will make sure that we treat you according to the nonsense that you are bringing to our state,” she warned.
According to her, most mining companies do not have the license to begin mining activities but only to make prospects but they go ahead to begin full-scale mining.
“I have gone to some mining sites that I shut down because of the kind of people I see there. You have a lot of youth who don’t have jobs that you can train above 18 that you can engage to do some of this work after proper training and making sure that you provide them with the necessary gadgets to even go into the site.
“But because of our gains and our selfish interest, we just go into any community, we get licensed and then we start mining and degrading, making the environment uncomfortable for the citizens in the community,” she revealed.
The commissioner therefore called on citizens and stakeholders to report cases of illegal mining activities in their area, adding that refusing to report such activities will be seen as being an accomplice.
“With the investment Engineer A. A. Sule has done in Nasarawa State, the last thing we need is for anybody to come and mess it up. So I want to appeal to the people; I’m also pleading and appealing to everybody responsible or those who have this opportunity to be in our state to benefit from the wealth to be guarded because when I step out, be rest assured, you are not doing right; we will show you the other side of not being good,” she appealed.
