Illegal Mining: Alake Hails Ansaru Leader’s Conviction

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has hailed the condemnation of Ansaru commander, Mahmud Usman, arsenic a important milestone successful Nigeria’s ongoing conflict against amerciable mining.

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, connected Thursday, sentenced Usman to 15 years’ imprisonment and remanded him to look an further 31 terrorism-related charges.

In a connection issued connected Sunday by his Special Assistant connected Media, Segun Tomori, the Minister commended the judiciary for bolstering the ministry’s efforts to dismantle the nexus betwixt coercion and illicit mining.

“It is gratifying to spot the judiciary aligned with our stance of zero tolerance for amerciable mining. This verdict validates what we’ve agelong maintained — that bandits are exploiting amerciable mining to money terror,” Alake said.

He emphasised that much robust measures are connected the way, aimed astatine tightening the noose connected transgression operations wrong the sector.

The Minister assured that the Ministry would intimately show the remaining 31 coercion charges involving different Ansaru commanders, noting that lessons drawn from these proceedings volition assistance sharpen regulatory enforcement and strategical responses to amerciable mining.

Dr Alake besides lauded the Department of State Services (DSS) for what helium called a “yeoman’s job” successful tracking, identifying, and apprehending terror-linked individuals operating nether the guise of miners.

“We volition deepen inter-agency practice and measurement up surveillance, arsenic portion of a coordinated nationalist effort to purge our communities of this menace,” helium added.

Ansaru, which translates arsenic the Vanguard for the Protection of Muslims successful Black Africa, is presently facing aggregate charges successful transportation with attacks connected the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment and the 2022 raid connected Kuje Prisons successful Abuja, among different acts of terrorism.

It whitethorn beryllium recalled that successful 2024, Alake launched the Mining Marshals, a dedicated unit tasked with combating amerciable mining and reinforcing the information of Nigeria’s coagulated minerals sector.

Since their deployment, the portion has arrested astir 327 suspects and is prosecuting astir 143 of them, including overseas nationals, astatine assorted courts successful the country.

Information connected the fig of convictions for amerciable mining was not disposable astatine the clip of filing this report; however, the Ansaru commander’s sentencing represents the highest-profile condemnation successful the combat against unlawful mining truthful far.