Dr Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, on Sunday in Abuja says that Mahmud Usman, the commander of Ansaru terrorist group and his deputy commander, Abubakar Abba conviction is a major victory against illegal mining in Nigeria.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Federal High Court in Abuja on September 11 convicted and sentenced Usman to 15 years’ imprisonment for illegal mining activities.
Justice Emeka Nwite gave the order after Usman, a.k.a. Abu Bara’a/Abbas Mukhtar, pleaded guilty to count 10 of the 32-count terrorism charge preferred against him.
Also joined in the suit was his deputy commander, Abubakar Abba, a.k.a. Isah Adam/Mahmud Al-Nigeri.
Usman and Abba, in count 10, were alleged to have committed the illegal mining offence between 2015 and 2025.
They were accused of mining precious minerals such as thunder stones and California stones without lawful authority.
Alake while commending the support of the judiciary in combating illegal mining, described the verdict as evidence that bandits engage in illegal mining to fund their operations.
“It is gratifying that the judiciary is aligned with the ministry’s objective of zero tolerance for illegal mining.
“Further tightening of the noose around illegalities in mining continues as more drastic measures will be announced shortly,” he said.
“We shall increase inter-agency collaboration to raise the tempo of surveillance to rid our communities of illegal mining perpetrated by bandits,” he said.
NAN recalls that Alake and Sen. Adams Oshiomhole had earlier said that big, powerful illegal miners were sponsoring banditry.
In 2024, Alake established the Mining Marshals, a security unit drawn from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, to secure mining sites across the country following a surge of illegal mining activities in the country.
(NAN)
