Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has put a halt to all mining operations in the region until a database of miners has been assembled.
When the governor met with representatives of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Benue Chapter, in Makurdi, he issued the directive.
In addition, he gave the Mineral Resources and Environment Management Committee, or MIREMCO, the order to start recording the information of every miner in the state right away.
He said that information about security threats led to the decision to carry out the revalidation exercise.
He was also appalled by the tainted water supplies for the people residing in the impacted districts, particularly Kwande.
The governor instructed law enforcement and the joint task force on illicit mining to make sure the proper actions were taken to improve public health and raise internally generated revenue.
Any illegal activity will not be tolerated by the state administration. He declared, “It is the prerogative of our administration to safeguard the lives and property of the people.