Despite governor’s executive orders, illegal mining denies Taraba State billions of naira annually

Despite three executive orders in three years suspending mining activities, Taraba State continues to lose more than ₦10 billion annually to illegal mining, exposing the limits of repeated government crackdowns on a lucrative underground economy sustained by weak enforcement, difficult terrain, foreign demand and alleged local complicity.

Why crackdowns failed Interviews with miners, residents and government officials, alongside previous PREMIUM TIMES reports on the return of illegal miners to communities in Taraba, enforcement operations by the state government’s mining task force, and accountability challenges in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, suggest that illegal mining has evolved into a resilient network capable of withstanding repeated enforcement efforts.

Years before the current crackdown, an investigation by Daily Trust reported how illegal mining around Mayo Sina in Nguroje, Sardauna Local Government Area, had developed into a thriving underground economy where blue sapphire worth between ₦60 million and ₦100 million was sold daily, largely to foreign dealers from Senegal, Mali, Guinea and Cameroon.