The Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dr Dele Alake has declared a firm resolve to scale up law enforcement frameworks and security operations across all mining corridors in Nigeria warning that the Federal Government will no longer tolerate illegal mining operations that compromise national security and claim innocent lives.
Alake made this stance known on Friday in Abuja while receiving the probe report from the High-Level Investigation Committee set up to investigate the tragic gas poisoning incident at the Zurak lead-zinc mining site in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Responding to the findings of the 19-member committee-led by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo-the Minister stressed that while accidents can occur globally the government’s primary duty is to be aggressively proactive in enforcing preventive policies that insulate citizens from avoidable loss of life.
‘We need to gird our loins and improve our regulation frameworks increase enforcement of policies particularly preventive policies against such incidents. In my own estimation the most effective tool is enforcement-strengthening the capacity of relevant enforcement agencies to combat illegal mining.’
Reflecting on the findings Alake noted that all 37 victims of the February 18 2026 disaster were illegal operators who had trespassed into abandoned unventilated colonial-era shafts on Mine Lease ML111H10 during an operational holiday break.
He pointed out that the incident underscores the severe dangers posed by illegal mining which he described as a ‘hydra-headed monster’ that previously left the country’s solid minerals sector almost comatose.
To permanently stem the tide Alake announced plans to significantly boost the operational capacity armament technological gadgets and nationwide footprint of the Mining Marshals-a specialised elite security architecture created under his administration’s seven-point agenda in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior.
‘The Mining Marshals have been extremely salutary to the efforts of the ministry in stemming the tide of illegal mining’ Alake stated revealing that the unit has already reclaimed over 100 illegal mining sites across Nigeria and handed them back to legitimate titleholders alongside prosecuting scores of perpetrators.
As part of the intensified enforcement drive Dr Alake fully endorsed the committee’s strategic recommendation to establish a Nigerian Army Battalion in the remote Zurak mining district of Plateau State.
The Minister noted that the deployment of military personnel will complement the Mining Marshals ensuring that once illegal miners are flushed out of difficult remote terrains like Zurak armed forces remain on the ground to maintain order and preserve access for licensed leaseholders.
In addition the Minister pledged to scale up the findings to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and direct regulatory bodies to execute a nationwide audit to seal up all hazardous abandoned colonial shafts-which hold over 50 million tons of legacy mineral deposits-to prevent unauthorized entry.
Earlier the Committee Chairman Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo formally submitted the report detailing how 37 artisanal miners died from toxic inhalation of accumulated carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide gases inside unventilated colonial workings dating back to German and British mining eras.
‘Every one of us on this committee carried the weight of the loss of lives through this assignment… behind each statistic is a family is a community that is mourning.’
Yabo confirmed that the licensed operator Solid Unit Nigeria Limited held a valid title running to November 2043 maintained 45 technical staff adhered to explosive regulations and paid ?157295 in royalties on 71130 tons of ore produced.
However the committee recommended that the leaseholder must take full responsibility for physically securing all legacy workings within its general lease area and sponsor community skill acquisition schemes.
Closing his address Alake urged Nigerians and academic institutions to embrace modern technological solutions-such as localised gas detection devices-to overcome environmental hazards rather than relying solely on spiritual interventions.
He assured the public that the report would not gather dust on government shelves pledging that the lessons from the 37 tragic deaths in Zurak will drive aggressive concrete enforcement reforms to safeguard lives and sanitize Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.