Northern Governors Launch ₦228 Billion Security Fund, Move To Halt Illegal Mining

By MAHMOOD MALIK MUSA (M.M.M.) IBRAHIM

NORTHERN governors have approved a joint security plan that will see all 19 states contribute ₦1 billion each monthly for a year—amounting to ₦228 billion—to strengthen regional security operations and deploy advanced technology against banditry.

Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule disclosed the decisions, explaining that the funds will support the recruitment, training, and equipping of vigilante groups across the North. He said the governors agreed to stop relying solely on the Federal Government and instead take collective responsibility for regional security.

A major resolution from the Kaduna meeting was a call for President Bola Tinubu to suspend mining activities nationwide pending a thorough verification of licenses. Sule linked illegal mining to rising violence, noting that criminals exploit unregulated sites to commit crimes. He added that many exploration licenses issued by the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals are misused for illegal mining.

The governors also appointed Ezekiel Gomas to head a new coordination office for the Northern Governors Forum, tasked with driving the security strategy.

Sule stressed that illegal mining hotspots, including gold and lithium sites, often harbour armed groups. The proposed license audit would allow government to deploy surveillance technology more effectively and differentiate legitimate sites—such as cement quarries—from criminal operations.