The Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) has called on the Federal and Nasarawa State Governments to carry out proper oversight functions to stop illegal miners in Uke district, Karu local government area of Nasarawa.
The statement is contained in a press statement issued in Abuja by the RDI Executive Director, Philip Jakpor.
RDI’s field monitors reported that community members in Uke have expressed deep concerns about the unchecked arrival of foreign miners, primarily from other West African countries. This influx has raised fears of potential security threats, as the miners have been observed displaying aggressive behaviour and barring anyone attempting to document their activities.
Mr. Jakpor said, “The situation in Uke and surrounding mining communities in Nasarawa reflects a growing and disturbing pattern of violation of the environment in mining communities across the country from Zamfara to Kaduna, Plateau, Ebonyi and elsewhere, allowing the miners to operate unchecked while the local landowners and farmers lose out.”
According to an investigation by RDI, the recent announcement by the Nasarawa State government that it had obtained licenses from the federal government to mine gold and lithium in the area has led to a surge of unlawful mining activities.
Mr Jakpor explained that the findings expose the reality that the kind of crisis in communities where fossil fuel extraction occurs is now being replicated in communities where the exploration and extraction of supposed green minerals like lithium are ongoing.
“In some cases, there is clear collusion between the miners and unscrupulous government officials who allow them to terrorize and force communities and farm owners from their ancestral lands so that they can continue their environmentally unfriendly practices”. He said.
Mr Jakpor further called on the Nasarawa and Federal Governments to compel the mining companies operating in the Uke district to comply with regulations in Nigeria’s Minerals and Mining Act 2007, which stipulates that no reconnaissance activity shall be carried out and no mineral title shall be granted under the Act over any area that is designated as closed to mining.
Field report from the investigation can be found here.
RDI urged the government to carry out a comprehensive environmental audit in Uke district to ascertain the level of destruction of the environment and pollution of farmlands and groundwater that the locals consume, to be followed by restoration of the environment and commensurate compensation for the local community members.
“Unless these measures are taken, the fanfare that has greeted Nigeria’s recourse to green minerals will evaporate before our own eyes, and the communities that had welcomed government initiatives in this regard will start experiencing what their counterparts in the Niger Delta are experiencing. We cannot allow that to happen,” he stated.