The Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, made the claim during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he said many communities experiencing heightened criminal activity were also areas with active mining operations.

Fanwo clarified that the government was not attributing every criminal incident to mining but maintained that the relationship between the two activities was a major security concern.

According to the commissioner, some illegal miners allegedly carry sophisticated weapons, including AK-47 rifles, to mining locations, raising concerns about the possible connection between unauthorised mining and armed criminal groups.

He said more than 30 suspects had recently been arrested with dangerous weapons, questioning why individuals engaged in legitimate mining would need such firearms.

The commissioner also disclosed that joint security operations were ongoing across the state to tackle banditry and other security threats. He argued that anyone involved in criminal activity should be dealt with according to the law, regardless of whether the person was operating under the guise of illegal mining.

Fanwo further claimed that joint security forces had neutralised more than six terrorist camps during recent operations. He did not provide further details in the reported interview about the locations of the camps or the number of people affected.

To strengthen security, the state government is expanding surveillance and deploying trained forest guards to vulnerable areas. Fanwo said more than 500 forest guards had been deployed to monitor forests and support efforts to prevent armed groups from using remote locations as hideouts.

He also highlighted the importance of working with residents to gather local intelligence, saying information from communities must be channelled effectively to security agencies. According to him, cooperation with neighbouring states is another part of the strategy to prevent criminals from exploiting state boundaries.

The commissioner said the government was not seeing widespread public apprehension despite the security challenges, while reiterating its commitment to improving safety across Kogi.

Fanwo also referred to legislative efforts towards establishing state policing in Kogi, saying the state government supported measures aimed at strengthening security. Any state policing arrangement, however, would depend on the applicable constitutional and legislative processes.

The government’s allegations place renewed attention on the security risks associated with illegal mining. However, the claim that mining activities account for more than 80 per cent of criminal incidents remains an assertion by the commissioner; independently verified data establishing that proportion was not provided in the reported interview.

Reporting by TalkNaija Media