Senate Investigates Death Of 30 Miners In Niger

The Senate has urged its Committee on Solid Minerals to investigate the cause of a rockslide that buried alive 30 informal miners in a gold mining site in Farin Doki community, Shiroro Local Government of Niger state.

This is contained in a motion during plenary in Abuja on “urgent need to address incident of the rockslide that buried alive over 30 informal miners in a gold mining site in Farin Doki Community, Shiroro Local Government, Niger State” by Sen.Sani Musa representing Niger East.

He told his colleagues that on June 3, a catastrophic rockslide occurred at the open pit gold mine, resulting in 30 local informal miners buried alive in the Farin Doki Community, near Erena in Shiroro Local Government,in Niger East senatorial district.

He said the miners, in their quests for gold and lithium minerals, met their untimely death, as the avalanche caved in, burying them under tons of rubbles.

He said the unfortunate and tragic incident underscored the urgent need for comprehensive and holistic action to be taken to frontally address the dangers faced and posed by local mining activities taking place across the country.

Sani said it was imperative to secure the mining sites to forestall future occurrence and avoid further loss of life.

“This will go a long way to ensure that mining activities are conducted safely and legally to prevent future tragedies and improve the overall well- being of miners across the country.”

He expressed worry that bodies of the deceased, were yet to be recovered for proper and dignified burial by their respective families.

According to Senator Musa, conscious efforts should be made by relevant agencies of government for the recovery of the bodies of the deceased for burial.

He said given that Nigeria was desirous of diversifying its economy, adding that the mining sub-sector was lucrative enough, and should be adequately exploited for the socio-economic development of the country.

“As such, the appropriate authorities should as a matter of urgency and necessity, initiate thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident so as to identify any existing lapses as they relate to safety regulations and enforcement in the sector.

“And as part of remedies to bring sanity to the system, strict regulations should be introduced in order to protect the lives of those who depend on this industry for their livelihood”.

“It is also apt for the relevant Committees of the National Assembly to step up the oversight of mining activities taking place across the country, for the purpose of harnessing the benefits that abound in the mining sector.”

The Senate, after it observed a minute silence in honour of the victims commended the Minister of Solid Minerals
Mr.Dele Alake for his swift and proactive response in monitoring the situation at the mining site.

The Senate also urged the federal government to come out with strict safety measures and regulations on mining activities in Nigeria in line with International Best Practices.

It also called for the deployment of adequate security apparatus to the mining communities to maintain vigilance around mining areas to prevent further incursions and intrusion by informal miners.

James Itodo, Edited By Grace Namiji