Mining Sites: Defence, Solid Ministries Collaborate

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and the Defence Minister, Abubakar Badaru, say plans to secure Nigeria’s mining sites are about to be finalized.

The Minister of Defence who for the second time in less than three weeks, paid a courtesy visit to the Alake’s office on Friday in Abuja, stated that the meeting was in furtherance of the collaboration to secure mining sites across the country, reiterating the resolve of the President Bola Tinubu administration to stop the activities of illegal miners, tackle banditry and other security challenges.

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“The country needs to make huge revenue from mining, but insecurity is bedevilling the industry. That is why the minister is  pushing so hard for us to provide serious protection around the mining areas.

That is why we discuss always to see how we can protect the mining environment, bring lasting peace to the country so that mining will flourish and the country will earn the much needed foreign exchange from the sector,” Badaru added.

Responding to enquiries about the proposed new security architecture, the Defence Minister restated that plans are underway for clearance operations at flash points as a prelude to the deployment of the specialized mining police.

On the timeline for clearance operations, Badaru revealed that preparations have reached an advanced stage, citing collaboration with the Solid Minerals Ministry to get the data of all mining sites in the country to enable coordinated security operations.

In his remarks, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Oladele Alake, read the Riot Act, for the umpteenth time, to illegal miners and their sponsors.

Declaring that their days were numbered, he restated the federal government’s resolve to bring the full weight of the law to bear on those who refuse to desist from such nefarious activities.