Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has alleged that influential individuals within Nigeria are funding illegal mining, banditry, and terrorism.
He said this while addressing the house of representatives Committee on Solid minerals.
Alake stated, “One pernicious discovery that we have made is that a lot of these banditry, terrorism, and insecurity that we associate with this sector are actually sponsored by illegal miners.
“These are not your artisanal miners. They are not the people who pick gold on the ground. These are heavy and powerful individuals in our country. And they are Nigerians. They are not foreigners.
“Yes, you can see foreigners as symptoms, but they are not the disease.
“Nigerians are the powers behind those foreigners that you see on the streets. We are identifying them and employing various strategies, both kinetic and non-kinetic.”
The fight against illegal activities necessitates collaboration between the government, security agencies and the public.
