Niger Miners’ Deaths: Find mine owners, not workers! — Adeyanju

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“In my view, especially with the new regime, there are no illegal miners in Nigeria because the Ministry of Mines has mapped out almost all mining sites in the country and given certificates to the owners,” he said.

Lawyer Deji Adeyanju has called for caution in describing the miners who died in Niger State, insisting that authorities must first establish the ownership of the mining site before reaching conclusions about those involved.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Adeyanju said the victims should not automatically be labelled illegal miners without the findings of the committee investigating the incident.

According to him, the focus should be on identifying the owner of the mining operation and determining whether the necessary approvals and regulations were followed.

“We cannot call them illegal miners because there has been no fact-finding to that effect yet,” Adeyanju said.

He argued that under the current administration, mining activities in the country should be traceable because the Ministry of Mines has worked to map mining locations and issue certificates to operators.

“In my view, especially with the new regime, there are no illegal miners in Nigeria because the Ministry of Mines has mapped out almost all mining sites in the country and given certificates to the owners,” he said.

“So, what we should be looking at is: who is the owner of the mine?”

Adeyanju’s comments come amid ongoing concerns over the circumstances surrounding the deaths of miners in Niger State and calls for accountability over the incident.

The lawyer is a member of the committee constituted to investigate the deaths and has said the panel must establish the facts surrounding the case.