Propose six months ban on mining
Northern States Governors’ Forum and the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council have resolved to establish a regional Security Trust Fund, financed by a mandatory monthly contribution of One Billion Naira from each of the region’s 19 states and their local governments.
The resolution was contained in a communiqué issued after an emergency security meeting held on Monday, 1st December 2025, at the Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna.
The assembly, attended by all 19 Northern Governors and the Chairmen of their respective State Traditional Rulers’ Councils, was convened for what they described as “exhaustive deliberations on critical issues of common interest impacting both the region and the nation.”
A second, equally significant resolution directly tied economic activity to the region’s violence. The Forum identified illegal mining as “a major contributory factor to the security crises in Northern Nigeria.” To dismantle this nexus, the leaders passed a firm recommendation for the Federal Government.
They resolved “to strongly recommend to the President to direct the Hon. Minister of Solid Minerals to suspend mining exploration for a period of 6 (six) months to allow proper audit.”
Furthermore, the communiqué mandates that all existing mining licenses be subjected to a revalidation process during this half year window.
This process must be conducted “in active consultation with the various State Governors,” with the ultimate goal to “arrest the menace of artisanal illegal mining.”
The meeting was underscored by a somber tone, as the Forum extended its “deepest condolences and solidarity” to the governments and people of Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Sokoto, Jigawa, and Kano States over recent killings and abductions of schoolchildren and citizens.
They also expressed sympathy for victims of Boko Haram attacks in Borno and Yobe States.
While commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the nation’s security forces for their efforts, the Forum used the occasion to reaffirm its “wholehearted support and commitment to the establishment of State Police.” They urged legislators from the region to “expedite action for its actualisation.”
Concluding the session, the leaders emphasized that at this “pivotal juncture,” only “unity, peer review and cooperation” can overcome present challenges, reaffirming their collective “resolve to confront these challenges with firmness and clarity.”
The Forum is set to reconvene at a later date to review progress on these monumental resolutions.
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