Inside Kogi govt’s clampdown on illegal miners
When the Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, said the government has resolved to go after illegal miners during his last year’s budget presentation at the House of Assembly complex in Lokoja, he did not betray his words. Barely a week after the declaration, the state task force on illegal mining, led by the commissioner for Solid Minerals and Natural Resources, Engineer Abubakar Bashiru-Gegu, went into action, storming the mining sites in Kogi East to that effect.
By the time the chips were down, the state task force said it has arrested 10 illegal miners and impounded over 50 coal-laden trucks at the mining sites.
Kogi State is naturally endowed with various types of mineral resources at commercial value which has made the confluence areas to become investors’ delight.
According to a source in the state’s Ministry of Solid Minerals and Natural Resources, the state is being credited to have over 23 different mineral resources at commercial level.
Some of these mineral resources include crude oil, coal, bauxite, iron ore, gold, marble, gypsum, dolomite, Feldspar, Iron-ore, Kaolin, Talc & Tantalite, among others,
For instance, coal was discovered in the sparse land beneath the lush vegetation in the Kogi East, particularly in Ankpa, Olamaboro, Omala and Dekina local government areas.
While gold is said to be found in commercial value in Mopa Moro areas, others like iron ore is being tapped at Itakpe, marble at Achigili and Itobe areas in Adavi and Ofu local governments respectively.
Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that both the local and foreign investors have been coming into the state in droves for exploration, extraction and marketing of these mineral resources deposits and its by-products.
A director in the state ministry who craved to speak on the condition of anonymity because of civil service rules said the investors are of two folds: multi-nationals and group of artisans in the garb of Small medium enterprises.
Both, he said, were licenced by the federal government for the exploration of the mineral resources deposit in the state.
It was noted that many of these investors, foreigners and locals, are into mining of coal, crude oil and marble in Kogi East, others mine iron ore in the central district while several others are into gold deposit around Mopa in the west district of the state.
Most of these investors are either on their own or in partnership with federal or state governments, or cooperate organisations and individuals in the society in the mining business across the state.
For instance, some of these multinationals investors include Nigerian Coal Cooperation(NCC) under the management of Global Energy Monitor at Okaba-Odagbo mine site; Zuma828 Coal Nig. Limited operates at Okobo-Okpiko; while the Dangote Coal Mines Ltd, mines at Awo communities in Ankpa and Olamaboro in Kogi and part of Benue State.
Others include federal government owned Gold Processing Plant in Mopa, Mopa- Muro Local Government and Iron ore company at Itakpe in Adavi council, while Orient petroleum is into exploration of crude oil at Ibaji community in the state.
Besides these major miners, there are artisanal miners who also operate at a medium scale level of the exploration under the aegis of Artisans Miners Association of Nigeria (AMAN).
Both the major miners and the Artisans groups were licenced by the federal government to mine coal in the enclave based on contractual agreement.
However, Daily Trust gathered that trouble was said to have started when both categorised miners were allegedly discovered to be involved in shady deals by the state government.
Among others, the alleged corrupt practices include failure to keep to the contractual or mutual agreement; in terms of regular payment of taxes or royalties to the federal and host state, including abandoning of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for host communities of the mining sites.
Worried by the failure to keep to these terms of agreements, despite persistent warning, the state government decided to clamp down on the illegal miners to make them sit up and service their responsibilities, as designed.
Piqued by the antics of the illegal miners, the governor broke his silence on the floor of the house while presenting his budget speech on 11th December 2023, ordering the security operatives to arrest the illegal miners and arraign them before the law.
“I must tell you at this junction that the state government will no longer condone the activities of the illegal miners operating in the state.
“They have turned the state to a conduit pipe to service their personal interest to the detriment of the state. I hereby direct the security agents to go after them; stop their activities, arrest and prosecute them, according to the law,” he said.
Based on the directive, on 18th December 2023, the state ministry of Mine and Natural Resources, in collaboration with the Kogi State Special Task Force on Illegal Smuggling of Firearms and Other Related Crimes, moved into the mining sites to enforce Governor Yahaya Bello’s directive on illegal mining across the state.
The first port of call was the coal mining site in Awo communities in Ankpa local government area.
Daily Trust on Sunday findings revealed that corrupt practices involving the miners (both major or minor) and some officials of the regulating agency have been thriving unabated in the coal mining sites, with negative effect on revenue generation.
For instance, it was reliably gathered that many of the licenced artisans for the coal exploration lack the necessary fund to keep up with the mining activities at most of these sites; besides using crude method and equipment for exploration.
In most cases, several of them were said to be consistently in a row of mining sites with major miners or their colleagues over right of exploration at a particular site.
“In Okaba-Odagbo and other mining sites, cases of miners being at loggerheads with each other over encroachment of sites abound.
“Some of them got their mining licence through sharp practices without meeting up with the necessary requirements or without an attached particular mining site.
“They appear on the site with crude equipment, inadequate funding and operate any where they deem fit, not minding whether it belongs to someone else or not.
“Their survival depends on their relationship with officials and how deft they can manipulate and manoeuvre through, including payment of taxes or other lawful levies,” said Jibrin Omoko, a resident of the mining community at Awo.
A source from the parent ministry noted that both the major and artisanal miners were neck deep in crude deals that have deprived the government of the needed revenue accrued from their exploration.
This source said the revenue derived from mining sites in the state has gone down all time low to N40m in 2023, making the state government to raise alarm of corrupt practices.
“Records showed that the revenue accrued to the federal government from the mining sector from the state in 2023 is relatively around N40m. The implication is that the state therefore attracted very meagre percentage royalty from the federal government,” the source said under condition of anonymity.
While corroborating the alleged dubious deals of the miners, he said most of the licenced artisans for the coal exploration lack the necessary wherewithal to keep up with the mining activities in most of these sites.
“It’s disheartening to witness miners using shovels and hoes to drill coal in some sites,” he said.
While the source added that many of the miners, particularly the artisanal miners, do not own mining field on their own, but encroach or depend on others for their exploration, it said in some cases it ended up affecting the revenue expected from such sites.
The under-cover director added that: “To worsen the revenue drive efforts, major miners buy “products” from the artisan group to beat up amount of tax remittance to the government.”
Daily Trust on Sunday gathered further that a case of abandonment of Social Coporate Responsibility by a major miner at a mining community at Awo axis contributed to government’s action to clamp down on illegal miners.
It was learnt that the said major miner recently shifted their mining activities from the Kogi site to a nearby community that is in Benue State, having exhausted the coal deposit without according the old site the necessity treatment.
“Instead, it planted cashew around the old coal field to deceive unsuspecting public of the implications of its action. We have alerted the government over it,” said John Alichenu, a resident of the Awo mining site.
The government was said to have frowned at that and shaded the alleged company for its action, reminding the company of the contractual agreement to that effect.
Engineer Abubakar Bashiru-Gegu said nothing will deter the state government from implementing the federal government’s policy on mining in the state, particularly in the area of revenue generation.
“Over the years, we have asked miners in the state approved by the federal government to register with the ministry. This has however fallen on deaf ears with people brazenly destroying our communities.
“Some sets of individuals are milking the state of its natural resources. That is why Governor Yahaya Bello said it was time to put a stop to illegal mining in the state.
“Our operation is very simple. All miners in Kogi State must operate within the ambit of the law,” he said.
According to a member of the Artisan miners association, who simply want to be identified as Mohammed Abdullahi, the issue is complicated, assuring that the matter involved will be trashed out to avoid future occurrence.
He blamed some scrupulous officials of the implementing or regulating departments/ agencies for latching unto the inadequacies of some artisan miners, to exploit and feed fat to their interest.
An attempt to get the reaction of many of the major miners was rebuffed, as they directed the reporter to apply and get an approval from their head office before they can grant any interview on any issue concerning mining in the state.
However, a Rights activist, Executive Director of Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR), Idris Miliki Abdul, condemned the alleged corrupt practices at the mining sites, particularly as it affects the mining communities and revenue drive of the federal government from that sector.
He said although mining of natural resources is at the prerogative of the federal government, he advised the state government to empower the overseeing ministry or agency for effective monitoring of the mining activities in the state.
“For a better approach that will curb the corrupt practices that is affecting the communities and revenue drive of the government, the state government should take inventory of miners and sites, and keep the document properly.
“The mining communities should be carried along and responsibilities assigned to them. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) should be drafted and the interest of all the parties involved be incorporated, to ensure an effective monitoring of mining activities,” he said.
He said the government should strive hard to ensure that the revenue collected is translated into reality for members of the public to feel its impacts.