Senate moves to halt over $9b yearly loss to illegal mining
27 September 2024 |
5:26 am
The Senate is making efforts to address the over $9 billion yearly loss to illegal mining through a proposed law to establish the Nigerian Mines Rangers Service (NMR).
The Senate is making efforts to address the over $9 billion yearly loss to illegal mining through a proposed law to establish the Nigerian Mines Rangers Service (NMR).
The proposed piece of legislation passed a second reading yesterday in Abuja. Sponsored by Onawo Mohammed-Ogoshi (Nasarawa South) the proposed law reads: “A bill for an Act to Establish Nigerian Mines Rangers Service (NMR) to Prevent, Combat Illegal Mining, Artisanal Mining and for Other Related Matters, 2024.”
Contributors highlighted the connection between illegal mining and banditry, particularly in the North West geopolitical zone, noting that using rangers to curb illegal mining activities would also indirectly combat banditry.
For instance, former Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal (PDP, Sokoto-South), informed the Senate that some bandits had started by providing security to illegal miners, and now terrorise innocent citizens daily.
He cited the frequency of attacks by bandits in the zone and across the country, explaining that the situation in the North was exacerbated by widespread illegal mining operations.
Several lawmakers, including Orji Uzor Kalu, supported the bill, highlighting the immense economic losses the country faces due to illegal mining. Kalu emphasised that Nigeria loses an estimated $18.9 billion yearly to illegal mining, a problem that the proposed NMRS could address. He added that the security outfit would also combat banditry, which has increasingly been linked to mining activities.
Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, lauded the bill for addressing key security and regulatory challenges in the mining sector. He expressed confidence that the NMRS would significantly reduce the influence of criminal elements in the sector.
The upper legislative chamber, thereafter, referred the bill to its Committee on Solid Minerals for further legislative input, and report back in two weeks.
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