Northern governors seek mining halt, boost security
By Akeem Oduyoye
Northern Nigeria’s political and traditional power blocs have taken a dramatic step in their fight against escalating insecurity, ordering an immediate halt to all mining activities across the region for the next six months.
The leaders said the suspension was necessary to break the link between illegal mining networks and the armed groups responsible for repeated mass kidnappings and deadly raids.
The decision emerged from a joint session of the Northern States Governors’ Forum and the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council in Kaduna, where participants warned that criminal gangs had grown bolder in recent months. According to the communiqué released after the meeting, the region has recorded over 500 abductions in a matter of weeks, with attacks targeting schools, churches and rural settlements.
To confront the crisis, the governors unveiled a massive N228bn annual security fund, describing it as the most coordinated regional intervention yet. Each of the 19 states and their local governments will contribute N1bn monthly, deducted at source, to finance intelligence operations, joint task forces and rapid-response deployments across vulnerable communities.
The meeting, chaired by Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, drew all 19 northern governors either in person or through their deputies, along with traditional council chairmen. Speakers at the session described insecurity as an existential threat, warning that the region’s future was being eroded by frequent school raids and the rising number of out-of-school children.
In recent weeks, government girls’ colleges and private schools have become primary targets. One of the most shocking incidents occurred in Kebbi State, where armed men stormed a secondary school in Maga, killed a vice-principal and abducted 24 girls. Days later in Niger State, St. Mary’s Catholic School in Agwara LGA was overrun by gunmen who fled with more than 300 students and 12 teachers. The fear sparked a wave of emergency school closures in Kebbi, Niger, Bauchi, Plateau, Yobe, Taraba, Adamawa, Katsina and parts of Kwara.
The northern leaders applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent declaration of a national security emergency and his directive for immediate recruitment into the military, police and intelligence units. They also threw their full weight behind the push for state police, ending years of resistance to multi-layered policing. The communiqué urged federal lawmakers from the region to fast-track the legal framework.
On the mining suspension, the governors argued that illegal mining has become a major financial engine for bandit groups, allowing them to purchase arms, fund hideouts and coordinate large-scale abductions. The Forum called on President Tinubu to authorise the Solid Minerals Ministry to run a comprehensive audit and revalidate all licences during the six-month break.
Traditional rulers, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, pledged total cooperation with the new measures. The Sultan warned leaders to avoid divisive rhetoric and urged them to remain open to criticism, insisting that unity was essential to stabilising the region. He also dismissed claims that the Kaduna meeting was an emergency response, noting that it had been scheduled months earlier.
The governors extended condolences to families affected by recent killings and abductions in Kebbi, Niger, Kogi, Borno, Yobe, Sokoto, Jigawa and Kano. They vowed to support the armed forces with all necessary resources to dismantle bandit enclaves and restore peace.
As the new security plan rolls out, northern leaders say the region cannot afford any further delay. With hundreds of victims still recovering from the trauma of recent kidnappings and schools battling closures, the stakes, they warned, have never been higher.