The Senate has called for a nationwide audit of licensed miners and their operational areas as part of efforts to strengthen regulation and improve safety standards in Nigeria’s mining sector.
The upper chamber urged the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, particularly its Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Department, to undertake a comprehensive audit of licensed miners and their operational sites to facilitate effective monitoring and regulation of mining activities across the country.
The Senate also called on the Federal Government to establish a statutory Mining Workers’ Compensation Scheme, funded through mandatory contributions from licensed mining operators, to provide compensation for occupational injuries, permanent disabilities, occupational diseases, and deaths arising from mining activities.
In addition, lawmakers urged the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, to develop compulsory occupational accident insurance for all categories of miners, including artisanal and small-scale miners operating under recognised mining cooperatives or community mining arrangements.
The chamber further called for the establishment of a Mine Rehabilitation and Victims Support Fund to provide emergency medical treatment, rehabilitation, compensation for injured miners, educational support for children of deceased miners, and livelihood assistance for affected families.
The Senate also mandated its Committees on Solid Minerals Development, Environment, Labour, Employment and Productivity, and Health to jointly engage relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies on the implementation of the resolutions and report back within six weeks.
The resolutions follow the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Senator Isah Jibrin, seeking immediate legislative and executive intervention to address escalating safety risks, environmental hazards, and humanitarian concerns arising from unsafe coal mining activities in Ankpa and other coal-bearing communities in Kogi State.
Presenting the motion, Senator Jibrin decried the hazardous conditions under which miners operate in coal-bearing communities in Ankpa Local Government Area, particularly Enjema, Okaba, and Ikah, as well as parts of Omala and Olamaboro Local Government Areas, all located within the Ankpa Coal Block in the Anambra Basin.
He explained that coal deposits in the area are covered by lateritic materials, loose sandstone, mudstone, clay, shale, and other unconsolidated sediments that are naturally unstable and highly susceptible to subsidence, landslides, and ground failure, especially under heavy mechanical loading.
According to the lawmaker, the July 14 landslide exposed the dangerous mining practices prevalent in the area, where many artisanal and small-scale miners operate with little or no structural safeguards.
He expressed concern over the widespread use of the room-and-pillar mining method without adequate reinforcement using timber, steel, or concrete supports, warning that the practice has significantly increased the risk of mine roof collapses, cave-ins, and fatal accidents.
Senator Jibrin also criticised the location of heavy-duty loading points close to unstable mining pits, saying the practice worsens geological instability and poses serious risks to miners, transport operators, and host communities.
He further lamented that many miners work under informal arrangements without written employment contracts, social security, health insurance, life insurance, or occupational hazard insurance, leaving victims and their families without financial protection in the event of accidents.
According to him, families of deceased miners and workers who suffer permanent disabilities are often left without adequate compensation, rehabilitation, or alternative means of livelihood despite the significant economic value generated from the country’s mineral resources.
The Senate expressed concern that the absence of mandatory insurance coverage and enforceable compensation mechanisms places the burden of mining accidents entirely on vulnerable families who lose their breadwinners without any form of social protection.
Lawmakers noted that major mining jurisdictions around the world have institutionalised compulsory workers’ compensation insurance and occupational health protection schemes that provide medical care, rehabilitation, disability benefits, and compensation for the families of miners who die in the course of their duties.
Following the adoption of the motion, the Senate observed a minute’s silence in honour of the victims of the Ankpa mining disaster, extended condolences to their families, and reaffirmed its commitment to promoting safer, more responsible, and humane mining practices across Nigeria.
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(Editor: Ada Ononye)
