Anyone, including foreign nationals in the mining sector, who dares to promote unrest at the mining sites in Nigeria should be ready to face the fire. The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, said on Thursday that the authorities would not sit back and allow any vested interest turn the sites to battle grounds. He has , therefore, declared war on bandits and their promoters terrorising the mining sites across the country.
Alake said preliminary reports indicate that non-Nigerians are active in the mining sector, funding violent attacks in mining areas.
The minister, in a statement by his media aide, Segun Tomori , threatened to sanction culprits stating that it was a deliberate action to sabotage and wage war against the Nigerian state.
He said, “We are working with intelligence units and other security agencies to make the recent attack a special case of collaboration of all agencies to track the trail and pattern of operations of the bandits suspected to have infiltrated Shiroro local government from neighbouring states.
“There is a new Sheriff in town, and combating banditry in the mining sector is a mandate we are taking seriously. Those who think they can invade villages, kill innocent people to make way for illegal mining of their rich minerals, will be shocked to discover that it is no longer business as usual.
“With the mining marshals working with the intelligence community, we shall fish out these hoodlums and put their hands to the fire”.
Subsequently he called on international bodies and embassies in Nigeria to monitor the activities of their nationals in the mining sector, as allegations of criminal conduct posed serious threats to the bilateral harmony between Nigeria and other countries.
The minister assured that the killers of the 12 miners in Niger State would be apprehended while ordering the immediate closure of the scene of the attack untill investigations are concluded.
“I assure that security agencies will not rest until mines across the country are safe from the incursion of bandits and criminal elements seeking to take possession of mineral-rich areas for illegal mining by violence,” Alake said.
Recall that Alake, had announced the approval of N2.5bn from the Bank of Industry, as financial relief aimed to ease funding access for Indigenous miners.
He had said, “In another significant development, the minister approved a proposal to transfer the N2.5bn mining sector support fund from the Bank of Industry to the Solid Minerals Development Fund.
“This move is intended to ease access to funding for Indigenous miners by offering more favourable conditions.
“This review aims to align the sector with current market realities and to ensure more effective management of Nigeria’s mineral resources”.