Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, has called for an executive order from the Presidency or the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to ban mining activities in locations identified as problematic across the state.

Bago made the call on Sunday during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC.

The governor said the state government required stronger intervention from the Federal Government because of limitations surrounding the enforcement of mining regulations.

Asked what his administration was doing about the presence of minors at mining sites, Bago said decisive action was needed to end the practice.

“I am in between the devil and the Red Sea because, as a governor, yes, it’s in my state. As a governor, I cannot just go and order the police or military to start shooting people or arresting people. As a governor, I can only make advocacy.

“But these people, because they have tasted the mining money, they cannot leave that side. We need decisive action. We need an executive order from the Presidency or from the Ministry of Mineral Resources to ban mining in certain locations where we have seen they are problematic. Once that is done, it can be enforced,” he said.

Bago said illegal mining had become a major challenge in Niger State, particularly with the increasing involvement of children in artisanal mining.

He expressed concern that the involvement of minors in mining was taking them away from school and exposing them to the dangers associated with mining activities.

The governor’s call came amid renewed scrutiny of mining activities in the state following the deaths of the 37 suspected illegal miners in NSCDC custody.