Mining tragedies and imperative of reforming Nigeria’s artisanal mining sector
Minna, the capital of Niger in North-Central Nigeria, and the remote village of Mayo Kam in Taraba recently became dual epicentres of a national crisis.
Two tragic incidents occurring just days apart have exposed the deep, systemic dangers embedded within Nigeria’s artisanal and small-scale mining industry.
In Minna, 37 young men detained on suspicion of illegal gold mining died in a crowded holding facility operated by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away in Taraba, an underground artisanal gold pit collapsed, trapping dozens of miners and leaving families in mourning as emergency teams pulled bodies from the earth.
Analysts say these tragedies are not isolated accidents; they are the predictable consequences of a sector caught between structural poverty, regulatory paralysis, and heavy-handed enforcement.
Data shows that, while Nigeria’s solid minerals sector holds vast economic potential (from gold and barite to critical energy-transition minerals like lithium), more than 70 per cent of all extraction activity remains informal.
To prevent further loss of life, some stakeholders say Nigeria must move away from reactive crackdowns and commit to holistic, structural reform of its artisanal mining industry.
Industry experts believe that the dual events in Niger and Taraba States illustrate two distinct ways the current system fails the citizens it ought to protect.
In Minna, security forces arrested dozens of young men near the mining areas of Borgu and M.I. Wushishi, holding them at a local facility for profiling before filing formal charges.
Two days later, 37 of those detainees were dead.
Early official statements suggested a sudden disease outbreak, but surviving detainees and relatives detailed how more than 70 individuals were packed into heat-trapping, poorly ventilated cells.
Relatives reported that detainees hammered on locked cell doors for hours pleading for air as room temperatures surged, leading to mass suffocation and collapse.
Surrounding family members raised sharp questions, noting that while dozens of young men died in a single night, facility guards suffered no ill effects.
The incident sparked protests, attacks on public infrastructure, a 24-hour curfew, and the eventual suspension of key security officials pending independent autopsies.
The Minna tragedy highlights a critical legal failure.
Section 35 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution mandates that any person arrested on suspicion of a crime must be brought before a court within 24 to 48 hours.
Analysts say when state agencies bypass constitutional safeguards to conduct prolonged detention in substandard facilities, security enforcement turns fatal.
Simultaneously, the disaster at Mayo Kam in Taraba exposed the physical dangers inherent in unregulated mining sites.
Attracted by gold discoveries, reports say local youths, women, and migrant labourers flocked to the area, digging makeshift shafts using basic hand tools without geological surveys or engineering oversight.
After heavy rains compromised the soft earth, a major pit collapsed, trapping dozens of workers deep underground.
Rescuers and local vigilantes retrieved several bodies while searching for additional missing miners.
This incident, analysts say, reflected a dangerous pattern seen across Nigeria’s informal mining hubs.
They say artisanal miners put their lives at risk daily in unstable underground shafts due to a complete lack of basic safety equipment, structural shoring or geological mapping.
To understand why these tragedies persist, experts have called for the examining of the immense gap between Nigeria’s statutory laws and actual field practice.
Under Section 44(3) of the Constitution and Section 1 of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act of 2007, all mineral ownership is vested exclusively in the Federal Government.
However, obtaining a Small-Scale Mining Lease requires navigating a centralised, expensive and complex application process through the Mining Cadastre Office in Abuja.
For rural, low-income miners, these administrative hurdles make formalisation nearly impossible, driving them into the informal economy.
Informal mining offers an immediate, low-barrier livelihood for hundreds of thousands of Nigerians struggling with high inflation and unemployment.
Unfortunately, this informal landscape is frequently exploited by organised criminal networks that smuggle gold through international supply chains, depriving the government of tax revenues and fueling rural insecurity.
Some stakeholders say, rather than addressing these root economic drivers, state responses have relied heavily on militarised crackdowns, roundups and mass detentions that target vulnerable workers rather than systemic causes.
They, therefore, say reforming Nigeria’s artisanal mining sector requires moving away from punitive roundups toward sustainable, human-centered governance.
“First, the government must decentralise and streamline the licensing process.
“The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development should delegate administrative intake and preliminary approvals to state offices and local government councils, establishing regional registration hubs,” an analyst said.
He said simplifying group formalisation by transitioning individual miners into registered Artisanal Mining Cooperatives would significantly reduce application costs and give informal workers legal standing without requiring expensive corporate setups.
Along with administrative reforms, there is the call for expanding financial inclusion and technical support.
Leveraging existing intervention programmes (such as the Bank of Industry’s ASM Finance Support Fund), can also grant cooperatives direct access to low-interest loans for modern, safer equipment.
Stakeholders also want to see state governments establish equipment leasing pools where registered cooperatives access machinery, water pumps, and testing gear at subsidised rates.
They emphasise that mine safety and environmental oversight must be institutionalised through proactive regulation rather than military force.
“Replacing heavy-handed security deployments with trained field inspectors from the Mines Environmental Compliance Department would allow for regular site reviews of pit stability, ventilation, and runoff management.
“Training miners on cleaner mineral processing techniques would also eliminate the toxic environmental and health hazards associated with unregulated chemical use,” a stakeholder advised.
Others also called for an urgent overhaul of law enforcement protocols and custodial conditions.
They argue that security agencies such as the NSCDC must adhere strictly to constitutional time limits for detainee processing, ending the practice of prolonged mass detention.
One of the lessons of the Minna tragedy is that detention facilities must be upgraded to meet fundamental human rights standards.
Proper ventilation, sanitation and access to emergency medical care should be ensured, with strict accountability for any personnel who violate these standards.
The tragic loss of life in Minna and Mayo Kam serves as a severe warning.
Previous experiences have shown that artisanal mining in Nigeria cannot be eradicated through arrests and military force alone, nor can its human cost be ignored in the drive for economic growth.
Advocates argue that Nigeria can establish a secure, sustainable mining industry that safeguards its population and natural wealth.
They recommend replacing bureaucratic barriers with streamlined licensing, prioritising occupational safety over punishment, and strictly respecting human rights in detention facilities.
