A civil society organisation, Media for Social Change Foundation, has raised the alarm over the rising number of deaths in Nigeria’s mining sector, calling on federal and state authorities to move beyond enforcement rhetoric and place greater priority on protecting human life.
In a statement issued on Saturday and co-signed by its co-founders, Boluwaji Obahopo and Opeyemi Owoeye, the foundation pointed to a troubling pattern of mining-related deaths, citing separate pit collapses in Kogi and Taraba States that each claimed more than 20 lives, as well as the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.
On the Niger State deaths, the group described the development as deeply troubling, stressing that the victims died after being taken into state custody.
While noting that autopsies and forensic tests are ongoing to determine the cause of death, the foundation maintained that the circumstances of the miners’ arrest, detention and death must be independently and transparently investigated.
The organisation argued that workers in the informal mining sector face a double threat, saying no miner should have to choose between the danger of an unstable pit and the risk of losing their life during a government enforcement operation. It said that while efforts to curb illegal mining remain necessary, such operations must not become cover for rights abuses or neglect.
While commending the investigations already announced by the authorities, the foundation warned against probes that lose momentum and fade away without producing answers or consequences, insisting that accountability must follow wherever negligence or procedural breaches are established.
The statement also pointed to a broader failure to protect vulnerable workers and host communities at the base of the country’s mineral value chain. The foundation called for a comprehensive review of mining regulations, community protection frameworks, enforcement guidelines, and how persons arrested over alleged illegal mining are treated in custody.
It further urged the authorities to set up safe and confidential channels through which artisanal miners and host community members can report hazardous site conditions and heavy-handed enforcement without fear of reprisal.
The foundation maintained that no mineral resource is worth a human life, and called on Nigeria to shift from merely counting casualties after disasters to actively preventing the conditions that lead to them, warning that the country’s mineral wealth must not continue to be a recurring source of avoidable deaths.
