Kogi Suspends Mining Activities Over Heightened Banditry

As a result of increasing banditry in Kogi state, the government has suspended all mining activities with immediate effect.

The decision was taken at the State Executive Council meeting by Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo.

The State Commissioner for Solid Minerals and Natural Resources, Bashiru Gegu, while addressing journalists after the Council meeting, said the council and the governor were convinced that mining was fueling banditry in the state.

He added that his ministry will start profiling legal mining companies in the state to have comprehensive data.

A total clean-up of the sector will go a long way in minimising or eradicating criminalities in totality.

The state will work in accordance with the rules of the games and will collaborate with the Federal Mines Officers and the Security Agencies.

The State will not condone any form of infiltration or illegal mining activities. We implore all the Mining Companies to bear with the State in these circumstances because we must curb insecurity, he said

Banditry, which started in the Northwest, has spread to the middle belt region, causing a carnage of death and destruction in states like Benue, Plateau, and Kogi.

In April 2024, an attack by bandits on the Agojeju-Odo community in Omala Local Government Area of Kogi claimed 25 lives, including four children and two women.

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Oluwatobi Odeyinka

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