Talks are underway by both the Minister of Solid Minerals,Dele Alake and Defence,Abubakar Badaru to work out modalities for establishing mining Police in the country.
This plan has led to series of meetings between between the two Ministers of late.
For the second time in less than three weeks, Badaru came calling at the Solid Minerals minister’s office on Thursday, where they headed straight into a closed door meeting.
Emerging from the meeting, Badaru stated that the parley is in furtherance of collaboration to secure mining sites, across the country, reiterating the resolve of the President Bola Tinubu administration to wipe out the activities of illegal miners and attendant banditry associated with it,
Badaru and Alake after the parley
” The country needs to make huge revenue from mining, but insecurity is bedevilling the industry. That s why the minister is pushing so hard for us to provide serious protection around the mining areas. That is why we discuss always to see how we can protect the mining environment, bring lasting peace to the country, so that mining will flourish and the country will earn the much needed foreign exchange from the sector”, the Defence Minister added.
Responding to enquiries about the proposed new security architecture, the Defence Minister restated that plans are underway for clearance operations at flash points as a prelude to the deployment of the specialised mining police.
On timelines for clearance operations, Badaru revealed that preparations have reached an advanced stage, citing collaboration with the solid minerals ministry to get the data of all mining sites in the country to enable coordinated security operations.
In his remarks, Dr. Alake read the riot act, for the umpteenth time, to illegal miners and their sponsors, declaring that their days are numbered, as the Federal government is committed to bringing the full weight of the law to bear on those that do not desist from these nefarious activities.
*
