Northern governors and traditional rulers have asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to suspend mining activities across the North for six months to help disrupt criminal networks fuelling insecurity in the region.
The call was part of resolutions reached at a joint meeting of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council held at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna.
Reading the communiqué, Gombe State Governor and NSGF Chairman, Inuwa Yahaya, said illegal mining had become a major driver of banditry, financing armed groups and destabilising rural communities. The leaders urged the President to direct the Minister of Solid Minerals to subject all mining licences to a six-month revalidation audit.
Yahaya expressed concern over recent killings and mass abductions in Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Sokoto, Jigawa and Kano states, as well as renewed Boko Haram attacks in Borno and Yobe. He commended the rescue of abducted children and praised security agencies for ongoing operations.
The governors and monarchs reaffirmed their support for state police and urged northern lawmakers to expedite the constitutional amendments required for its establishment. They also approved the creation of a Northern Security Trust Fund, to be financed through a monthly N1 billion contribution deducted at source from each state and local government under an agreed framework.
According to Yahaya, the fund—combined with the temporary suspension of mining—would help cut off revenue streams for armed groups, strengthen law-enforcement capabilities, and support a coordinated security strategy across the 19 northern states. He added that insecurity must also be tackled by addressing underdevelopment, unemployment, illiteracy, climate change impacts and mismanaged resources.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani said Nigeria’s centralised policing model was inadequate for a country of more than 230 million people with vast ungoverned spaces. He criticised what he described as attempts to politicise insecurity and lauded traditional rulers for their stabilising role.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, speaking on behalf of the monarchs, urged the governors to intensify efforts and remain united, saying northern leaders must be honest with themselves in confronting the region’s challenges.
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