Nigeria sets up task force to check threat of Illegal mining

On Nov. 25, 2021, the Federal Government inaugurated a 14-member National Taskforce Committee to draft a framework that would guide mining activities in the country. The committee is chaired by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno.

Part of the committee’s terms of reference is the development of a framework for vetting of prospective miners who would undertake mining activities in states where mining activities are taking place.

It is also charged with the conduct of background checks and selection of the prospective companies forwarded by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Solid Mineral Development for mining in Zamfara and other states.

At the inauguration of the committee, Monguno was optimistic that some of the security challenges which informed the decision to ban mining activities in Zamfara, Plateau and other states would be curtailed once the committee comes up with a framework.

Recall that in Nov. 2019, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, informed the National Economic Council that the federal government had resuscitated the Presidential Mines Surveillance Task Force to curb illegal mining and environmental degradation.

The Task Force operates in all states of the federation and is responsible for plugging revenue leakages and institutionalising of the National Council of Mining, and Mineral Resources Development.