Former Ekiti State Governor and ex Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, has attributed the recent mining tragedy in Plateau State to what he described as a failure to sustain earlier enforcement actions at the affected site.
About 40 people were reportedly killed, with several others injured or missing, following a collapse at a mining location in Kampani Zurak, Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State.
In a statement shared on his Facebook page Sunday evening, Fayemi described the incident as avoidable, stressing that decisive measures had previously been taken to shut down illegal operations at the same site during his tenure as minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, the mining location had been embargoed in 2017 after complaints from members of the host community. Fayemi said he personally visited the site alongside security officials, including the then National Security Adviser, and the Plateau State governor.
He disclosed that illegal operators, including Chinese nationals, were arrested at the time, while the alleged owner of the illegal lead and zinc mines, Alhaji Dan China, was declared wanted and later apprehended. However, he noted that the suspect was released after he left office.
Fayemi revealed that preliminary discussions with officials of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and Rt Hon Idris Wase, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and representative of Wase Federal Constituency, confirmed that the latest collapse occurred at the same location previously shut down.
The former minister argued that the recurrence underscores the dangers of weak regulatory enforcement in Nigeria’s mining sector. He maintained that if security agencies had sustained the 2017 actions, the loss of lives might have been prevented.
Beyond expressing condolences to affected families, Fayemi used the opportunity to call for stronger institutional resolve in regulating mining activities. He urged authorities to take firm and decisive action against operators who flout mining and environmental laws, warning that enforcement must not be influenced by vested interests.
He stressed that mining operations must not be conducted at the expense of host communities, emphasizing the need for stricter compliance monitoring to prevent further tragedies in the sector.
