Insecurity: Northern Leaders Demand Six-month Mining Halt, Back State Police

Northern governors and traditional rulers united on Monday, December 1, 2025, urging a six-month suspension of all mining activities in the region.

They linked illegal mining to the growing insecurity devastating several northern states.

This call emerged from a joint meeting of the Northern States Governors’ Forum and the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council, convened at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna.

The gathering was led by Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Yahaya, chairman of the NSGF, and included all 19 northern governors alongside the heads of their respective traditional councils.

Officials voiced serious concerns over surging violence marked by killings, abductions, and renewed Boko Haram attacks.

Affected states include Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Sokoto, Jigawa, Kano, as well as conflict zones in Borno and Yobe.

“The Forum extends its deepest condolences and solidarity to the governments and good people of the affected states,” the communiqué said, noting that the attacks on schoolchildren and other citizens had become “unacceptable tragedies” that required urgent collective action.

According to a Punch newspaper report, the forum commended President Bola Tinubu for what it described as the Federal Government’s “firm response” to recent abductions and insurgency threats, especially the rescue of some abducted pupils.

The governors also saluted security agencies for their sacrifices on the frontlines.

“We resolved to renew our support for every step taken by the President and Commander-in-Chief to take the fight to insurgents’ enclaves in order to end the criminality,” the Forum stated.

The report further added that the major highlight of the meeting was the North’s renewed push for the establishment of state police, with governors and traditional rulers insisting that decentralised policing had become inevitable.

“The Forum reaffirms its wholehearted support and commitment to the establishment of state police,” the communiqué added, urging federal and state lawmakers from the region to “expedite action for its actualisation.”

On illegal mining, the governors said criminal mining networks were fuelling violence and providing resources for armed groups.

As a corrective measure, they asked Tinubu to direct the Minister of Solid Minerals to impose a six-month suspension of mining activities in order to allow for a full audit and revalidation of licences.

“The Forum observed that illegal mining has become a major contributory factor to the security crises in Northern Nigeria.

“We strongly recommend a suspension of mining exploration for six months to allow proper audit and to arrest the menace of artisanal illegal mining,” it said.