The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has urged youths in Kogi State to engage their elders, community leaders and local authorities to withdraw support for illegal miners operating in their communities.
Alake made the call while receiving members of the Concerned Kogi Youths Against Environmental Degradation, who protested at the Ministry over alleged environmental damage caused by illegal mining in the state.
The Minister commended the protesters for supporting the Nigerian government’s campaign against illegal mining, assuring them that the Ministry was deploying technology and strengthening the Mining Marshals to intensify enforcement.
Kogi, he noted, remained a major concern to the Ministry, recalling that the first operation of the Mining Marshals involved dislodging illegal miners from Licence 19325, belonging to North-South Extractive Industries in Yagba East Local Government Area.
Alake disclosed that between March 2024 and August 2026, the Mining Marshals identified 374 illegal mining sites, of which 108 had been cleared.
He said 743 suspects had been arrested, while 165 cases involving 430 accused persons were being prosecuted, with five convictions secured so far.
According to the minister, investigations by several committees that visited Kogi revealed that many of the illegal miners were indigenes allegedly operating with the support of elders, traditional rulers and local government officials.
He explained that illegal mining was depriving legitimate mining companies and the country of revenue, as illegal operators neither paid licence fees nor royalties on minerals extracted.
Alake warned that the government would intensify enforcement through technology and the Mining Marshals.
“This ministry has a message for them and their collaborators: time is running out. With the ongoing deployment of technology and the consolidation of the Mining Marshals, very soon there will be no hiding place for these criminals,” he stressed.
The Minister urged the youths to take the message back to their communities and convince stakeholders to allow enforcement agencies to tackle illegal mining effectively.
“Consult your elders. Convince community leaders and local authorities to back off and allow the machinery of enforcement to work diligently and effectively to combat illegal mining and stop the reckless degradation of our environment,” Alake stated.
Earlier, the Coordinator of the Concerned Kogi Youths Against Environmental Degradation, Comrade Isaiah Davies Ijele, said the protest was aimed at drawing the Ministry’s attention to environmental degradation in Kogi East Senatorial District, particularly Ankpa and Omala.
Ijele alleged that mining activities in the areas were being conducted in violation of environmental and regulatory standards, resulting in damaged roads, destroyed farmlands, polluted water sources and deteriorating living conditions.
He called for investigations into mining operations in Ankpa and Omala, as well as the deployment of Mines Inspectorate officials and Mining Marshals to enforce regulations and seal companies found violating the law.
Responding, the Director of Mining Environmental Compliance, Dr Vivian Okono, said the Ministry was compiling a list of mining companies defaulting on their Community Development Agreements.
She disclosed that the names of defaulting companies would soon be published alongside other penalties, in line with the Ministry’s directives.
