Northern governors and traditional rulers have jointly called for a six-month suspension of all mining activities across the region, warning that illegal mining is fueling banditry and escalating insecurity.
At a high-level meeting in Kaduna, the leaders unveiled an ambitious plan to mobilise ₦228bn annually to combat bandits terrorising northern communities.
Under the new framework, each state and its local governments will contribute ₦1bn monthly, deducted at source, to a new Regional Security Trust Fund.
The decision comes amid a disturbing wave of school kidnappings, where more than 500 students and residents were recently abducted, forcing several states, along with the Federal Government, to shut down schools.
President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a nationwide security emergency has intensified recruitment into security agencies and renewed calls for decentralised policing. In a major shift, the northern leaders fully endorsed the creation of state police, reversing decades of resistance.
The communiqué also urged President Tinubu to order a halt to mining activities while an audit and licence verification is conducted, citing criminal mining networks as major sponsors of violence.
The meeting, chaired by Gombe Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, was attended by all 19 northern governors and traditional council chairmen, including the Sultan of Sokoto, who pledged total support for the fight against insecurity and poverty.
Meanwhile, fresh security operations in the FCT have halted a planned kidnap attack, with police neutralising three bandits and arresting a notorious gang leader.
Across Sokoto, Ondo, Enugu, Kebbi, and Ekiti, state governments are stepping up surveillance, border security, drone deployment, and community policing efforts.
The region remains on high alert as leaders push for unity, swift reforms, and massive security investment to restore peace.
