Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has levelled a direct broadside at Kogi State communities, accusing local elders and council functionaries of active connivance and dangerous complacency in shielding illegal miners from the law.
He spoke during a protest visit by the Concerned Kogi Youths Against Environmental Degradation at the Ministry’s headquarters on Thursday.
Alake pulled back the curtain on government findings, revealing that the individuals destroying local ecosystems are not foreign invaders but indigenes harboured by their own leaders.
‘Investigations have revealed that illegal miners are not aliens, but indigenes involved in illegitimate livelihoods with the support of elders, traditional rulers, and local government functionaries,’ Alake stated firmly.
Expressing frustration over community-backed sabotage that undermines legitimate operators, the Minister highlighted how local complicity directly starves the national economy while enriching a select few at the public’s expense.
‘Their illegal activities are killing the mining companies,’ Alake warned. ‘In the coal fields, they are stealing the minerals of mining companies which have paid money to obtain licences and will still pay royalties… Illegal miners don’t pay for licences. They don’t pay royalties. They enrich themselves at the expense of the Nigerian people.’
Represented by a delegation of senior officials led by Director of Mining Inspectorate, Engr. Imam Ganiyu, and Mining Marshals Commander, John Attah Onoja, the Minister urged the youth delegation to redirect their activism towards their own backyards and challenge the protective cover provided by local elites.
‘This ministry has a message for them and their collaborators: time is running out,’ he declared. ‘If, as you claim, you are Kogi youths, take this message to the stakeholders in your communities. Consult your elders. Convince community leaders and local authorities to back off and allow the machinery of enforcement to work.’
The Minister highlighted that, despite local resistance, federal enforcement is making headway, noting that, ‘We have arrested 743 suspects; we are prosecuting 165 cases involving 430 accused persons. So far, we have secured five convictions,’ Alake said, warning collaborators that ‘time is running out’ as advanced technology and expanded marshal operations roll out.
‘Consult your elders. Convince community leaders and local authorities to back off and allow the machinery of enforcement to work diligently and effectively,’ he urged the youths.
Earlier, leader of the youth group, Comrade Isaiah Davies Ijele, had lamented the severe ecological ruin in Kogi East-specifically across Ankpa and Omala communities-where unregulated operators have wrecked roads, poisoned water sources, and decimated farmlands.
Responding to the grievances, Director of Mining Environmental Compliance, Dr. Vivian Okono, assured the delegation that the government is compiling a comprehensive list of defaulting mining firms violating their Community Development Agreements, promising that sanctions and public exposure are imminent.