Former Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Kayode Fayemi, has narrated how he shut down an underground mining site in Zurak, Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State.
At least 37 persons were killed during a gas leak at the facility last week.
Reacting to the incident, Fayemi said the site was shut down during his tenure as minister of solid minerals development.
Fayemi held this position from 2015 until he resigned in 2018 to contest the Ekiti gubernatorial election which he won.
In a statement, Fayemi said he visited the Zurak mining site in 2017 alongside Babagana Monguno, then the National Security Adviser (NSA).
According to Fayemi, the visit followed complaints from the host community, prompting the ministry to order the immediate shutdown of the mine and the arrest of illegal Chinese operators.
“We embargoed mining at the sites, arrested the illegal Chinese operators, and declared the purported owner of the illegal lead and zinc mines, Alhaji Dan China, wanted,” Fayemi said.
He added that the suspect was eventually apprehended and prosecuted through the intervention of the NSA, but was later released after he left office.
“My preliminary discussions with officials of the ministry, as well as with the former deputy speaker and Wase representative in the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, indicate that this tragedy occurred at the same mine,” Fayemi said.
He argued that the incident could have been prevented if security agencies had sustained the enforcement actions taken in 2017.
Fayemi expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and urged the government to take decisive action against illegal mining operators.
“Mining activities must not be conducted to the detriment of host communities,” he said, calling for strict enforcement of mining and environmental regulations regardless of vested interests.
