Mining operators in the country have expressed strong opposition to the six-month planned ban on mining activities announced by the 19 Northern governors.
The Miners Association of Nigeria warned that the decision would worsen insecurity rather than curb it, arguing that such measures have historically driven out legitimate operators and created room for bandits and illegal miners to take over mining sites.
The association’s President, Dele Ayanleke, expressed a strong opposition view during an interview on Wednesday, telling The PUNCH that previous attempts by some state governments to suspend mining activities only succeeded in driving out legitimate operators and leaving mining sites in the hands of bandits and illegal miners.
Recall that Northern governors and traditional rulers on Monday called for a six-month suspension of mining activities across the region, blaming illegal mining for the worsening insecurity in many states. This was contained in a communiqué issued after a joint meeting of the Northern States Governors’ Forum and the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council held at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna.
The forum asserted that criminal mining networks were fuelling violence and providing resources for armed groups. As a corrective measure, they asked President Tinubu to direct the Minister of Solid Minerals to suspend mining activities to allow for a full audit and revalidation of licences.
The ban, which is expected to run for six months, covers all forms of mining, artisanal and licensed operations, pending an improved security situation and a major security overhaul. “The Forum observed that illegal mining has become a major contributory factor to the security crises in Northern Nigeria,” it said.
“We strongly recommend a suspension of mining exploration for six months to allow proper audit and to arrest the menace of artisanal illegal mining.” The northern leaders also announced plans to mobilise N228bn to fight bandits terrorising communities across the region.
But Ayanleke described the policy as “misguided and counter-productive,” noting that past experience, particularly in Zamfara State, proves that shutting down mining does not translate to improved security.
He said, “Our opinion on this matter is simple. Since the governors said it is to improve the security situation in the region. We need to look at antecedents. For several years now, mining activities in Zamfara have been said to have been banned. But we discovered that the insecurity in the state is even getting worse in spite of the ban on mining activities.
“What we have observed is that what usually happens when these governors ban activities is that they only succeed in sending out the legitimate operators from their site. The government doesn’t have or hasn’t been deploying enough security personnel to ensure compliance.
“So when legitimate operators leave the site, what we have observed is that the illegal operators would take over, including the so-called bandits. These illegal miners are the so-called bandits. And these are the people that the government cannot control. They don’t have enough logistics to deploy to ensure that people comply with any ban on activities.”
Ayanleke argued that the major challenge has been the government’s failure to deploy adequate security personnel and logistics to enforce compliance with any declared ban. “The government does not deploy enough security to protect these sites. So, when the legitimate operators exit, the illegal ones, who are mostly criminals, move in. These are the people the government cannot control,” he said.
The association warned that denying lawful operators access to sites would inadvertently give criminal groups more control over mineral resources, enabling them to “weaponise themselves.”
“So if Zamfara has remained banned for years now, we are still hearing a lot of banditry attacks and an increasing wave of banditry in that region. It means that banning mining activities cannot stop that problem. If anything at all, it would only improve on the resources that these people would have access to, for them to weaponise themselves and begin to carry out their heinous activities.
“We don’t see banning of mining activities as a panacea to the problem of insecurity and banditry that have been taking place in the northern part of the country,” he added.
Ayanleke further expressed concern that the six-month suspension would harm existing mining companies, disrupt production schedules, and threaten ongoing investments involving local and foreign partners.
“Just as we have said, the proposed ban would affect a lot of things. For example, you have a lot of big mining companies springing up in these states, which are contributing meaningfully to the economy.
“What happens to the economy if their operations are crippled. What will happen to their production or even upcoming miners who have partnered with investors, both foreign and local investors? What will happen to their investment? So I think we should look for another solution to solve this,” he said.
He argued that the ban could trigger investor flight and undermine the Federal Government’s push to grow the solid minerals sector into a major revenue source. The miners’ association urged the governors to adopt the Niger Delta security approach, where the Federal Government tackled oil-related insurgency without shutting down crude production.
“When there was an insurgency in the Niger Delta, the government didn’t ban oil drilling activities. Instead, they deployed security to ensure that they curtail the level of insecurity in the area during that period. Assuming the government has banned oil drilling activities, what would have happened to our economy or the revenue that each state gathers to share every month in Abuja.
“These are the issues. So far, the feedback I have received from all our members across the federation is that a ban on mining activities is not the solution. If it were the best solution, Zamfara would be the most secure and safest place in this country,” Ayanleke said.
He called for the deployment of joint task forces or specialised security units to mining corridors to tackle bandits, enforce mining regulations, and protect licensed operators. According to him, artisanal mining is a global phenomenon that cannot be eradicated but can be regulated if legitimate operators remain active on mining sites.
“In my own licensed site, artisanal miners cannot operate without my consent. Where legitimate operators are present, illegal miners don’t disturb them. It is usually when there is a ban that these illegal miners take over,” he noted.
Ayanleke added that the government’s ongoing effort to formalise artisanal miners into cooperatives is a step in the right direction, but such reforms would fail if legitimate operators are forced out by blanket bans. He also referenced a recent warning by Senator Adams Oshiomhole on the growing link between banditry and illegal mining, urging the government to “listen and act.”
“When there was an insurgency in the Niger Delta area, the government deployed joint task forces to curtail illegal bunkers. They didn’t ban oil drilling activities. Assuming they did, imagine what would have happened to our economy today. So let the government deploy JTF, or its nearest force, to checkmate all these bandits and their activities,” he concluded.
The decision by the Northern Governors’ Forum followed escalating attacks across mining corridors in Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara, Plateau, and Katsina, where criminal groups have been accused of exploiting mining sites as operational bases and using mineral revenues to procure arms and support their logistics.
However, mining in Nigeria is constitutionally under the exclusive control of the Federal Government, creating a long-standing jurisdictional tension between the federal and state authorities.
Under the 1999 Constitution (as amended), mineral resources fall within the Exclusive Legislative List, giving the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Solid Minerals and the Mining Cadastre Office, the sole authority to issue licences, regulate operations, and enforce compliance.
This means state governments cannot legally ban or suspend mining activities, except through advisory pronouncements or by collaborating with federal security agencies. The contradiction often results in policy clashes, with states attempting to impose local restrictions in response to insecurity or environmental concerns, even though the law does not grant them the power to enforce such measures.
Earlier this year, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, said that, despite the federal government’s constitutional authority to control the mining of the solid minerals in the country, it is constrained by cultural and political sensitivities, as state governments continue to interfere in mining operations.
Alake revealed that several governors have taken unilateral actions such as banning mining activities or sealing off mining companies, leading to conflicts with federal authorities. While reaffirming that mining falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the FG, he noted that the Land Use Act grants states ownership of land, which is creating room for contention.
“I’ve had a meeting with the governors at their Secretariat here, organised by the chairman of the governors’ forum, the governor of Kwara State. Thirty-two were present there, and I had a robust exchange with them. Some didn’t feign ignorance of this constitutional separation of powers.
“I did explain to them this exclusivity of the mining sector as belonging to the purview of the Federal Government, and a lot of them understood. But there is a sensitivity given the peculiarity of our environment, political, social, and cultural environment, which we recognise, and I particularly will not be the one to heat the polity unnecessarily. I’ve had a lot of calls, even from the media, calling on me to confront this governor, confront that governor. That is not how to do it,” he explained to State House Correspondents.
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